


Your love is a menace

by Unseeliesidh



Series: Serial Killer!Levi x student!Eren [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Anal Sex, Blowjobs, Broken Levi, Completed, Cryptic Messages, Dark, Happy ending I guess?, I'll add tags later, IT IS GOING TO BE DARK I WARN YOU ALL, Just lot of fucking, Levi fucking scares me, M/M, Masturbation, Missionary ;), Murders..murders and more murders, Riding, Smut, Student Eren, Suicide mention, Top Levi, You guys were waiting for these tags werent you?, dub con, extremely possessive Levi, i mean extremely yandere, im going to hell, mentions of self harm, non-binary Hanji Zoe, poor connie, poor eren, rape mention, riren - Freeform, sadistic levi, serial killer Levi, this is gonna go extremely dark way too fast
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-27
Updated: 2016-04-27
Packaged: 2018-05-09 15:33:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 28
Words: 90,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5545325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unseeliesidh/pseuds/Unseeliesidh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren Jaeger begins to work as a 911 dispatcher to complete his community hours, but the job he likes soon becomes dangerous when the most notorious serial killer takes an interest in him and doesn't seem like he would stop till he makes Eren his.</p><p>Rating raised to explicit for chapter 8</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The beginning

**Author's Note:**

> So I've been thinking about this au for almost a year. I wanted to challenge myself as an author and couldn't help but write this and totally in a different writing style.  
> Yeah I know I have other fanfics that need attention but hey, i'm trash. 
> 
> Also I do not condone this behaviour, everything I write is cause I wanted to write a yandere relationship and nothing else, I love my otp as fluffy consensual pairing but hey, I know you all are smart enough to know that!
> 
> ***  
> (edit)  
> Because some assholes don't understand fiction. Please read this before you proceed to read this fic: 
> 
> Since philosophy interests me I have always wanted to write a fic that makes people question what is right or wrong. For example: If you went back in time and found Hitler as a baby, would it be right to kill him? This is what makes us, as humans, ask ourselves. Don't get me wrong, this fic is not all about it, but the main theme is such.  
> This fic is dark, it has issues, and I know it is there, the fact it is a yandere love story should clear it up that it is not your average safe, consensual relationship. I KNOW this. I am all for that kind of relationship cause it is important. That said, please realize that I do not agree to what I am writing. Hell this fic is based on snk manga. Snk is dark and gory, it doesn't make any of us cold blooded killer. ((that said if you're seeking validation for this behaviour from a fictional couple means you need help)) 
> 
> I've been told that I'm influencing people and making them see this is normal, let me clear it up. I have the tags there, if you continue reading up after this then I am not at fault. I am not stopping writing cause people are uncomfortable, this fic isn't forced on anyone so people are willingly clicking on it. I am writing this long note to clear it up, because the hate is unreasonable, so is you hating on a fanFICTION. 
> 
> Listen, this Levi is OOC. He is a serial killer. This is not some rainbows and fluff, there is plenty in the fandom so TURN BACK. This Levi is based on real people out there, the yandere story is out there to make people realize that this happens in real life. I know it cause I have gone through it. I've been told that i've gone deeper than dark, infact I created a monster. It is the point of this fic. People who like dark stuff and know it is wrong are the only ones who are meant to read this. Let me say again, it is based on REAL people. This happens out there, it isn't acknowledged cause people escape to internet to forget reality. This is why back off, don't read it. if you can be influenced, do not read it. This is my last warning. I know this fanfiction is one of the darkest out there, this is why I don't promote it anywhere. You won't see me talking about it unless I am approached to. Please beware. And remember my views DO NOT reflect on this. I am going through a hard time which is why I am capable of writing such dark stuff. 
> 
> Okay, I believe after this you're intrigued as in what this story is about. Some of you reading it are people who put scathing remarks on people's fic. Listen, I'll become numb to hate and legions of people love this fic so there is no point. Positive criticism is okay, more than welcomed, and I do acknowledge it and I will never be rude about it. But if you send me hate here and think you're doing god's work then I have two words for you: fuck off. I don't care. Don't waste your time. Fanfic authors are human beings. Sending hate to them makes you worse than scum. 
> 
> Last warning, don't proceed if you think this behaviour is okay, it is NOT. This is all the disclaimer I am putting. I am not at fault if you keep reading after this.  
> \- Unseeliesidh (I know I am sounding really cocky and awful but I am tired of the hate I am getting, I am not rude, I promise <3)

It was the summer Eren decides to complete his volunteer hours which he needed to pass his high school.

 

He looks through his Facebook feed at the posts his friends posted about enjoying their break, and it makes Eren mad at himself because of his procrastination and plain laziness which lead him to neglect his high school requirements to graduate. He thinks backs to the summers he wasted by playing video games and generally dicking around, and sighs knowing that he won't be able to do that this year. 

 

He slams his phone down and closes his eyes, _it wasn't all lost_ , he thinks to himself, cause he knew exactly where he wanted to complete his much needed community hours. 

 

The Military Police in the city of Maria are the main peacekeepers; they also run the 911 service where people could volunteer if they wanted to serve their city by helping the people in need. It was a long and arduous job- and people often left due to the emotional baggage that accompanied the work. Even though it was hard and stressful Eren had an extreme sense of justice; he always thought that if he could help someone in need then why shouldn't he? 

  
  
That is how he ends up in the MP building, waiting to start his first day as a volunteer. 

 

The whole place gave out a serious aura; the concrete building stares ominously at Eren as he steps in the blessedly cool reception area. He recognizes the receptionist as Annie, she was his classmate and maybe friend, he didn't know what to call her as she hardly talked to him or anyone else. She looks up with a smile in greeting and Eren walks up to her and smiles back.

 

"Hey there, Eren, what's up?" She asks.

 

"Uh nothing, just here to volunteer-" 

  
Just then a door opens with a bang and Eren flinches as he turns to see the source of the commotion. It comes from his left side where the double door lead inside the building. It stood completely ajar and there stood someone panting and grinning maniacally. Eren takes a step back in surprise. 

 

"I thought I heard you, Oh Eren! Welcome!" The person chirps at Eren happily. 

 

"Um, hi.." Eren trails off as he wonders if the person was eavesdropping in the conversation cause there was _no way_ they would have known Eren was here without listening in. He turns to Annie who shrugs in nonchalance and then she looks at the crazy person and says, "Eren, that's Hanji Zoe. They are the resident police officer here. "

  
Eren gulps; the police makes him nervous in general because of the job they did, but right now he was more fidgety than usual because this police officer was clearly mental. He tries not to think of it but the name reminded Eren of something. He cannot figure it out and  Hanji chuckles at his adorably confused expression as they introduces themself to him, "Hi Eren! goodness you're cute! We talked on the phone about me, remember?"

  
_Oh yes,_ Eren remembers now. He had called up to ask how one could volunteer in MP and ended signing himself up there and then. He doesn't remember the exact conversation, but remembers that he was told that he would be assigned to someone called Hanji. _So this is who they are._

  
Even though crazy looking, Eren has doubts that Hanji isn't the best at their job. Their brown eyes had a steely look in them and an air of command surrounded them; it is the aura of a true police officer and Eren admired that a lot.

 

Hanji leads him inside a huge room with lota of cubicles placed at short distances from each other. People were milling around and talking to others or were on phone. All of the cubicles had computers situated on a desk and chair in front of it. Some desks had stationary cluttering them while some others had photos of their family or positive quotes stuck on the grey wall dissecting the cubicles.

 

The space was small but looked strangely comfortable, and Eren couldn't help but think that this was where he was going to spend fourty hours of working his ass off to get his hours done.

 

Hanji leads Eren to this cubicle beside a huge window, and although it's hot outside and he can feel the warmth from where the sun rays fall on the space, he doesn't really mind. The outside view is a nice bonus and he can see people strolling along the path and cars driving by in the unbearable heat.

 

Hanji gets inside the cubicle first and pulls a chair beside them for Eren to sit. He thanks them before sinking back on the comfy seat and then looks at the blank computer screen in front of him.

 

"Okay, Eren! as you know I'm the resident police officer here so I don't actually take the calls. I'm just here as the security measure. You, however, you will be taking calls and act as a liason between the police and the civilian. Just to sate my curious mind, how old are you, kiddo?" 

  
Eren looks at them with a smile. He knows he looks really young for his age but shrugs as he answers awkwardly, "I'm eighteen.. "

How is he supposed to address a police officer?

  
Hanji smiles as they pick up on Eren's nervousness and winks as they whisper, "My, I thought you were sixteen! but still you're young! what are you doing here, volunteering for police?"  

 

"Uh, I like helping people out.." 

  
"That's good, that's good. I must warn you though Eren. It is not an easy job, okay? it is hard, really hard. I just hope that you don't get a call you'll regret, kiddo." 

  
Eren looks up and blushes at the warm smile Hanji gives him. He can see that they sincerely care for his well-being and so is flattered by their attention, "Thank you" he quietly replies. 

 

"Okay, enough chit-chat! Here, let me show you what to do; you are to take calls Eren, and keep the caller on the line at all costs, understand? till the help is dispatched. While you're talking, you must fill out their name, details of the situation, and their address, and the police will take over from there on. Oh! and people prank call so ignore that..and ask them if it's an emergency or not..and yup! that's it! have fun!" 

  
Eren blinks in surprise, _have fun? what fun_?

  
As a courtesy due to being this his first day, Hanji stays by Eren the whole time as he receives calls and answers them. They're nerve racking and Eren almost forgets to take their details down, but soon he gets the hang of it. He has Hanji to thank to, who gently guided him throughout, and the few calls he got which were nothing serious in nature but helps him to practice nevertheless.   
He soon approaches the four hour end of his shift and looks at the glaring sun and then at the time. It was five pm and Eren supposes that he can drop by Armin's place to play some videogames before he is back tomorrow at one pm for his shift. He waves goodbye to Hanji and Annie before leaving the building and going home to change his clothes and to call Armin. Armin says yes and he smiles, thinking that this wasn't exactly as bad as he had originally thought, maybe.. just maybe, this vacation might work out for him. 

 

***

 

Eren wakes up the next day and groans when he opens his eyes. It was already a new day and that meant he had to head back to the MP building for his shift. Not that he didn't like the job he was doing, it was just that he had to get up, take a shower and get dressed before heading to complete his hours.

 

Suppose it was his fault for enjoying not doing anything till grade eleven, _hm_? 

 

So Eren gets up, and goes through his daily notions of his day when he finally heads for his shift after leaving a message for his mom. He ends up being greeted by Annie at the reception and by Hanji, who is carrying coffee around with a gleeful look in their eyes. They wave at Eren with the hand in which the coffee is, and Eren couldn't help but wince as he sees the dark brown liquid sloshing about dangerously.

 

He smiles at them and then heads to where he had sat down when he had come in yesterday. Hanji doesn't stay by him today, and it disappoints him but excites him too, maybe he enjoys Hanji's company but right now, he was the one handling the calls and shit; he was in charge of his little cubicle. How cool is that? 

  
Eren fires up the computer and waits for the calls to come, and they trickle in soon. Some callers talk about how they heard noises last night, or how they felt they were being stared at or feeling suspicious cause Mr.Jones next door kept his windows shut the whole time and never came out of his house, but Eren nods and politely talks to them as he fills in their information and forwards it to the respective departments. He is naturally good at this job and soon everyone notices this. There is talk of giving him a part time job because of his people skills and this doesn't happen very often. Eren is both proud and happy, he wouldn't refuse working here, and get paid for doing this job on top of that? that sounds like heaven.

 

He slowly becomes friends with the people from neighbouring cubicles and learns about them. There was sweet lady called Petra there, who, incidentally is dating Hanji and then there is Auruo, Erd and Gunther who are really good friends and easily accept Eren as a part of their tight knit group despite them being twenty three or so and Eren being eighteen, and Eren was glad, these people were cool, so were Thomas and Mina from the cubicles far down his own. Hanji often joined them because they like Eren and ofcourse, Petra, and Eren feels right at home as he talks to them. 

 

*

 

It is one slightly pleasant Wednesday as Eren walks in the building again. He heads in and settles in his cubicle after greeting everyone he knew. He switches on the computer and looks outside as it loads and curses really loudly. 

 

"What's wrong, Eren?" Hanji walks up to him staring gloomily at the outside.

   
"Oh Hanji, I forgot my umbrella at home! and it looks like it is going to rain!" Eren wails. 

 

Hanji chuckles as they ruffle Eren's hair, "It's okay, kiddo. I get over at six pm. If you would like to wait till then, then I would drop you at your house!" 

  
Eren nods gratefully, and smiles at Hanji as they head back. Well that meant he had an hour to kill after he finishes his work, no big deal since he was friends with people here so he could talk to them if he felt bored. 

 

 

Eren's shift finishes too soon. He glances outside and notes that he was right. It was heavily pouring outside and he could hardly see the cars driving by. He shivers at the dark atmosphere and gets up from his seat and heads to where Erd is talking to Petra. 

  
"Hey guys.." Eren greets as he sits on the table where Erd keeps his stuff.

  
"Hey Eren!" Petra greets him back and Erd nods, he turns back to the computer as another call comes in, leaving Eren alone to talk to Petra. 

  
"So," Petra smiles at him kindly as she asks, "How is it going?" 

  
"Oh you mean volunteering here?" Eren asks as she nods, "It's great! I love it!" 

  
Petra giggles, "It is cause you haven't received serious calls...yet" 

  
"Hm, about that, when will I start getting them?" Eren wonders out loud, he knows that he shouldn't wish for those cause they're serious for a reason, but Eren wants to help people, want to save lives, and the calls he was getting weren't helping him in any way, what kind of a shitty 911 dispatcher would he be if he cannot do this job to its fullest capacity? 

  
"Well, Eren, it is actually surprising you aren't receiving them even after three days of you working here, but be grateful! I remember-" Petra pauses as Erd looks up sharply at her and interrupts, "Petra, he is too young for that!" 

  
Eren is taken back, _too young?_ till now there hadn't been an issue about his age then why..?

  
"Petra?" he asks sweetly. 

 

"Oh psh, Erd! I won't go in details..Anyways Eren, your enthusiasm reminds me of this worker we used to have..she was very bubbly and cute and..well.." Petra's smile falls off her face as she looks over at Erd who sighs but continues from where Petra stopped, "She left after she got a particularly serious call, from what I hear is that she now frequents the hospital because of nightmares and stuff." 

 

Eren shivered but his curiosity was piqued now, going to hospital because of nightmares? what kind of a call could that have been? 

  
Erd answers him with a knowing look,"It was a call reporting a murder." 

  
Eren gasps, he knows calls like that occur almost everyday but to hear the consequences of taking that call made his heart race with fear. 

  
"Does that happen often?" He asks, and Petra looks at Erd before sighing as she gives in, "No, this was a special case." 

  
A thunder rumbles somewhere as Eren waits for Petra to continue, the light flickers over him for a second and Eren feels like he is in a horror movie as he listens in to Petra's low voice, "She got a call from Rivaille."

  
Eren shudders, fear tingles his spine, even Petra's eyes shines with fear as she delves in the story about the infamous serial killer, "Rivaille called us up once, and she was the one who took the call, poor thing." 

  
"Rivaille called here, seriously?" 

  
"Oh yes," A voice answers him and Hanji sidles in beside Petra, their whole demeanour serious, "what do you know about Rivaille, Eren?" 

  
Eren is thrown back for a second before he answers, " He is a serial killer and no one anything about except for his name," he whispers, "and he kills in a unique way." 

 

"Yes," Erd nodded, "So do you know how he kills, Eren?"  

 

"Sometimes he tortures his victims, sometimes he kills them by slitting their throats, and then calls up randomly to describe his acts to an unsuspecting victim before disappearing." Eren finishes with a sombre voice, he knew about the macabre killer as well as the next person but he feared the person to death. Rivaille was a horrendous creature who murdered viciously without leaving a shred of evidence. He struck randomly and often but no one had ever survived to tell the tale of the horrors the killer had inflicted. 

 

"That one person had the misfortune to be here at the wrong place and time when Rivaille called in. I still remember how she was screaming hysterically as she heard the victim being killed.." Hanji sighs, "Since then he has called up over thirty 911 dispatchers all over the country to tell them the gruesome details, not counting the random citizens, ofcourse." 

After Hanji stops talking the whole place goes eerily quiet. Eren knows he shouldn't worry because it was unlikely that Rivaille would call back, but to imagine being the one to pick up to hear the devil talk about his deeds bad enough to send one to the hospital must be awful. 

 

"Well kiddo, it is 6:00 pm already, ready to go?" Hanji suddenly pipes up, causing Petra to jump. 

  
"Jesus, Hanji" Petra mutters but Hanji laughs as they tilt their head to kiss their girlfriend in apology before moving in front of Eren and placing their hands on the either side of his head, "Listen Eren," they say seriously, "Don't be scared, alright? that was two years ago and no one has ever gotten a call since then, don't worry your cute ass! and hey! only three days left till you complete your volunteer hours!" 

  
Everyone cheers around him to dispel the serious environment, and Eren supposes that he is being ridiculous, he had his friends and family to support him, and sure, a devilish killer like Rivaille was stalking the streets but no way Eren would be affected, right? 

  
  
On the last day of his work, he was proven wrong. 

 

***

 

Eren feels like he would miss this place once he is done with his hours. He liked it here, but it was time that he heads back to his life and maybe enjoy rest of the summer lazing around like he loves to. It was around 2:00 pm and Eren talks to Auruo to pass his time. Auruo is telling him about his crush on a 'certain coworker' and how she doesn't notices him and he is really sad because of that but doesn't really make a move (how can he? whenever he talks to her he bites his tongue in nervousness) and how Erd and Gunther keep on teasing him, but he suddenly stops talking when he sees Eren receive a call. 

  
"Sorry Auruo, just a sec- Hello?" Eren puts on his headphones to talk to the caller.

  
"Hello" A smooth voice returns his greeting.

"How may I help you today, sir?" Eren asks politely.

 

The caller laughs softly and Eren cannot help but like that laugh. It sounds like music to his ears.   
That was till he heard the next few, but chilly words, ofcourse. 

 

"I do not need any help, but I don't think my victim felt the same way."  
Fear tingles down Eren's spine as he whispers, hoping against all odds that he was wrong, "Rivaille?" 

  
Eren can hear the smile in his voice as he replies, "Oui." 

  
The blood drains from Eren's face and Auruo notices it, along with the name Eren whispers. He jumps from Eren's desk and rushes to others to tell them what was going on, while Eren sat on his chair, frozen, as he stutters, "Wh-what do you wa-want?"

  
The smooth voice replies, "Your name"

  
Eren's heart is racing but he doesn't know what to say, should he lie? what if Rivaille was looking for his next victim? will giving his name make him a target?

Rivaille murmurs and Eren tunes in him saying, "You're not my target if you're so worried." 

  
"Wh-who did you kill?" Eren whispers fearfully. 

 

By now people are congregating at his workplace, trying to listen in the conversation; someone calls the police, while someone else prays. Eren cannot breathe, it is too crowded. 

 

"I killed someone, and don't you want to know how I made them suffer?" 

  
Eren whimpers, _this is it,_ here he was. He was one of the victims for sure, and he would have to listen to those gruesome details now.   
He wonders if he'll have to go to the hospital too as he whispers, "No" 

 

The voice chuckles as Rivaille murmurs again," Well, what a shame. I like you, I hope I can talk to you again, my jewel. Till then, Au Revoir" 

 

And the phone line goes dead. 

 

Eren keeps his headphones down in daze as everyone descends on him, but the shock of being called by Rivaille doesn't wear off. He doesn't realize but soon he is being led off to somewhere.. deeper in the building.   
He soon sees Hanji standing beside a little door, and they stare at Eren with a fierce protectiveness that shocks him. They run over to him and hug him tight, and Eren exhales sharply. 

  
"Eren..kiddo.." They whisper softly. 

  
"I'm okay" he replies. 

  
But Eren is not, never in history has Rivaille let go of a caller just because they said no, and what was up with the endearing nickname? Jewel? is that what Rivaille called his victims? 

  
Eren shudders and Hanji leads him inside the small room. He soon realizes that it is their office and he plops down on the offered seat with a groan. Hanji offers him coffee and Eren drinks it in one go. 

  
"Eren, tell me what happened." 

  
So Eren tells them, but emits the nickname out of it. He didn't know why but it feels too personal to share. Hanji listens in, brown eyes narrowed in concentration and then they widen as Eren says how Rivaille hadn't talked about the details of killing his victim like he usually did whenever he called up, and Hanji shakes their head. Soon there is a knock on the door and Petra rushes in to hug Eren, others are there too but Eren doesn't care. He was too exhausted. 

 

"What's wrong Hanji?" Petra whispered as she ruffles Eren's hair in a comforting way.   
Hanji sighs and they whisper dreadfully, "Rivaille is up to something, and this isn't good Petra. He is changing his killing style and I think Eren is his next victim." 


	2. Red roses of promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren receives a letter from Rivaille, and everything starts to go downhill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 68 kudos, 21 bookmarks and 12 comments in less than 24 hours??  
> Holy shit guys, I am so flattered, oh my god. Thank you so much! For this reason I decided to update today :) 
> 
> Enjoy!!!

Eren's parents come to pick him up from the MP building and he follows them out in daze, the security guards escort him out as some paparazzi shows up, trying to ask him questions about the call. The word travels fast and people want to know how it was like to talk to the notorious serial killer. He hears hushed mumbles and pitying whispers as he passes them by; Grisha puts his hand on Eren's shoulders in support while Carla sniffles as she mumbles, "I cannot believe this, my son, my poor son" 

  
Eren tries to tell them the same thing he tells the Military police- that Rivaille didn't say anything to him, they thought it was the shock from receiving the call or Eren just trying to hide what he had heard so that he doesn't has to relive the nightmarish conversation again, that is why he keeps refusing to answer the question of what transpired between them on phone, after all why would a dangerous killer like Rivaille listen to a eighteen year high school student?

  
But that is what confuses Eren too, why did Rivaille listen to Eren when he said he didn't want to know how the victim died? 

  
And why had he called him a jewel? 

  
Eren is confused as he heads in the backseat of the car and Grisha sidles in the driver seat while Carla gets in beside him, Grisha manoeuvres through the persistent crowd and soon is driving off towards their house. The cars pass by in blur and Eren leans back as he sighs; he should feel incredibly lucky for not having to listen to the gruesome way how the victim died, but even with that comforting thought, Eren cannot help but feel like this is far from over.

 

*** 

 

The next day he is sitting by the kitchen counter when his phone rings, Eren picks it up and is surprised to see Hanji's name flashing on it. He remembers he had exchanged numbers with them a few days ago but didn't actually think that they would ever call him.  _Why would they even use it?_

  
"Hello?" Eren asks as he drinks his orange juice.   
"Hellooo? Eren, morning!"

  
Eren chuckles, "Morning Hanji" 

  
"How are you, kiddo?" 

  
"Fine, but I want to go back to sleep" Eren yawns as he gets up from the chair and is heading to his room when Hanji clears their throat and begin " Eren.." 

  
"Yes?"

"Would you like to come in and work for us part time?" 

 

Eren stops walking as he soon as hears the question, he is facing the window that looks out at the backyard and he watches the trees sway gently in the winds, and the birds chirping about but he cannot move as the world does around him. If it had been yesterday, he would have accepted the invitation in a blink of an eye, but it wasn't yesterday and Eren had already received a wake up call from the Satan himself. 

  
Should he accept this? 

  
What if Rivaille calls him back again? 

 

 _This is stupid_ , this is Rivaille Eren is thinking about! the macabre killer who kills all over the country for reasons known only to him. No one was spared from his clutches- then why did Eren think that he was special? 

 

"Eren?" Hanji calls him back from his thoughts and he nods to show that he is paying attention- only to realize that he is talking on the phone and noway Hanji can see him. _Stupid, stupid, stupid,_ did he really think a serial killer like Rivaille would care about Eren enough to call him back? 

 

"Sure, Hanji, I will" Eren laughs to dissipate the awkwardness and he hears Hanji huff on their end of the line. 

  
"See you today then, kiddo, welcome to the job of a 911 dispatcher!" 

  
***

  
It was a fifteen dollar per hour pay for four hours a day and Eren doesn't mind at all; what he minds is the fearful looks he receives as he steps in the office where the other dispatchers are. He can hear whisperings around him and he sighs as he sits down on his usual seat. He looks in the front and then to the window, starts up the computer, cleans his desk, fixes his clothes, and does what he usually does when he starts his shift to bring back some sense of normality. Yet, he cannot help but remember talking to that smooth voice yesterday. 

  
He almost jumps as Hanji comes barrelling into him, "Kiddo! I missed ya!" they grin at him.   
"I think we all did," Petra walks in then and wraps her arms around Hanji but looks down at Eren in worry.

 

"Haha, I missed you all too but you guys did see me yesterday .." he trails off as he notices Auruo and Gunther joining in. 

 

"Eren," Auruo growls as he leans in, "Tell us what happened yesterday!"

  
"Auruo!"Petra gasps in shock.   
What?"

  
"God shut up you tongue biting loony-" 

 

Eren shakes his head as he turns to his computer and the first call comes in, his heart is racing as he picks it up, wondering if he will hear the icy cold voice at the other end, but turns out that there were some kittens stuck on a tree and an old lady is asking for help; Eren smiles as he forwards the request for aid. 

 

***

  
  
It is soon a week since the mishap has happened and Eren comes to work more easily. He is back to his normal self, waving at Annie, talking to others and making fun of Auruo, everyone soon get over their fears and start talking to Eren like the last week had never happened. 

  
He walks over to the cubicle where he sits and starts his day usually when there is a light pat on his shoulder. He turns around and sees a delivery boy standing there, looking like he is out of the place.

 

"Hi? how can I help you?" Eren asks with a frown as he notices the bouquet the man holds.

  
"Eren Jaeger?" The man asks, very softly.

  
"Yes?" The man shifts from one foot to the other as a sign of nervousness yet Eren can't help but feel the sharp, confident aura the man exudes. He wonders why.

"This is for you, can I please have your signature right here.." The man holds out a pen to Eren and his gloved hands feel smooth as Eren takes it from him and signs the paper. In his curiosity about the flowers, he totally forgets to ask who sent it to him. 

  
"Er..thank you," Eren finally focuses on the delivery boy and bites his lip. _Damn the guy is hot._ He was short but incredibly well built, and his silver eyes seemed to pierce through Eren.

 

He thinks he hears the man whisper, "Not bad" under his breath, but Eren cannot be sure.

  
Eren turns in his seat and looks through the flowers; they're red roses and they looked freshly picked and Eren can smell the sweet scent of them. He turns around the bouquet and his fingers brushes on a piece of paper, which he opens up with curiosity and reads the words written in an elegant writing. 

 

_My jewel,_

_Our conversation might have been cut short last week, but do not worry. I'll make it up to you. One way or the other._

  
_Sincerely,_

_Rivaille._

 

Eren's heart starts to beat faster than ever, and he throws the paper away from him like it was on fire. Was this some cruel joke someone is playing on him? _no,_ only Rivaille calls him a jewel and only Eren knows about it. _Rivaille actually sent this,_ why would he send him this? is he fucking around with Eren- wanting to make him suffer for denying to hear about the victim's death that day?   
Eren gets up so fast that his head swims, he hears Petra's concerned voice coming from somewhere but the vision in front of Eren starts to swirl and then it turns black as he faints suddenly.

 

***

 

Coming back to conciousness felt like coming out of the water after you've been drowning for some while. Eren feels like his head is about to burst, while his body remains unresponsive to his commands like it is paralysed. He starts to panic as he cannot move but as he awakens more and more, he starts to regain more of his control; he is so focused on trying to move his fingers that he almost misses someone talking above his body. 

 

"...this is awful.." One voice whispers sadly.

  
"I know... poor kid.." Another voice replies and then someone strokes his hair. 

 

He hears a door open suddenly and he belatedly wonders where he is; he can feel a pillow under his head and the softness of a bed beneath his body, but cannot discern where he is as his body wouldn't still let him open his eyes. 

 

"Doctor!" The first voice shouts and he realizes that it belongs to Hanji. 

  
"Shh, Hanji!" The other voice snaps, and Eren recognizes Petra's sweet voice. 

 

_So he is in a hospital?_

 

 A gruff voice replies, and Eren imagines the doctor to be in his sixties, "Hello! are you both related to Eren?" He greets. 

  
"No," Eren hears Hanji say, "but we're extremely close to him since we work with him."

  
"Oh yes, he works as a dispatcher, hm? I also see the uniform on you; nice to meet you, officer." The doctor greets them. 

  
"Thank you, doctor. Can you please tell us what is wrong with Eren?" 

 

Eren feels like he is holding in his breath as he awaits the doctor's reply. He has never fainted in the past, yet today he did. What happened to him?   
He tenses up when he hears the doctor say heavily, "He was drugged." 

  
"Drugged!"

_Drugged?_

  
"Specifically, he inhaled something that made him faint- that is what the bloodwork detected. Now we're waiting for more information, but we must leave as the sleeping patient might get disturbed."   
Eren hears Hanji and Petra following the doctor out and he strains to hear whatever is going on after the door softly closes, muffling the voices, but he doesn't get to hear anything after that and slowly his frustrations gives in to sleepiness as he feels the meds take over him again, as he falls asleep, his last thought before losing conciousness is about those red roses he had received earlier in his office.  

 

*

  
When Eren wakes up again, he is still in the bed. He exhales in relief when he realizes that he can open his sleepy eyes, which he promptly does and he studies his surroundings quickly. He is in a small room which is coloured in an annoying shade of yellow, and there is a window that overlooks the outside to his right. The room is mostly empty- save for his bed and a medical tray beside it which has all sorts of medical equipment Eren would gladly not think about.

He cranes his head when he notices a nurse is bustling around him, and she tuts at him when he tries to get up. He gives up as his body is still too weak and sighs as he settles in again to sleep-  
_But wait a minute_ , he hears a crinkling sound as he moves, and feels something scratch against his skin. He weakly raises his tightened fist and opens it to reveal a smooth paper. Eren's heart is racing as he opens the small, innocuous looking paper, and he reads it dreadfully:  

 

_My Jewel,_

_I didn't think such a weak drug would make you faint, but you do look so delicate and exquisite that I must be pardoned for doing this to you. Next time, I'll make sure when you faint, I'll be there to catch you. Till then, take rest._  
_Sincerely,_

_Rivaille._

 

Eren feels like he is going to cry, but he swiftly hides the letter underneath him as he feels someone open the door to his room. He peers around, wondering if he'll see something grisly but sighs in relief when he see his mom and dad rush in.

 

They run towards him but his mom stops abruptly by the bed and she pulls a confused Grisha back with her. 

 

"Honey?" His mom asks strangely. 

  
"Yes, mom?" he replies weakly. 

  
"Was someone in here?" 

  
Eren nods slowly, "The nurse-" 

  
"No, other than the nurse." 

  
"No. Why?" Eren asks as fear chills his spine.

   
"There is a red rose lying beside your pillow, on the bed." 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Eren, my darling has no idea what he is in for.  
> Thank you again for showing this fic so much love, i'll try to update it as soon as possible!  
> Till then, Au revoir ;)


	3. Chained in love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren researches more about the dangerous criminal and learns about his gruesome deeds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost completed this yesterday but fucking Neko Atsume happened, I was busy waiting for cats that I totally forgot to write this. I'm sorry (but those fucking cats do.not.leave.enough.fishes and I REALLY, REALLY WANT TO BUY BETTER THINGS FROM THE SHOP)

Eren is discharged after a day from the hospital but he doesn't go to his home directly. Ever since finding out about the red rose beside his bed, Eren decides to come clean to the police. So here he was, his parents driving him yet again to the building where it all began. 

 

It is evening and Annie isn't here at the reception since her shift finishes with Eren at five pm, Eren is worried because he knows that Annie has heard about what has happened, and that means she is probably telling everyone she knows in school about that call. _Great, now he has to deal with that too._

He strides in the office and smiles at anyone who looks up to see who is walking past them. He waves at Auruo, Erd and Gunther who duck back in their cubicles after greeting him warmly. 

 

Eren settles in to do his job since he has already called in to say that he will complete his daily hours after five, and by now he knows that Rivaille isn't going to call him anymore. No, Rivaille is resorting to sending roses and drugs to him and Eren half wishes that he had just listened to the victim being murdered, cause then he wouldn't have to deal with such cryptic messages from the most dangerous person on the loose. 

 

After he finishes his shift- which he started at six instead, he leaves to go to the police. He heads for the familiar room he comes to remember being Hanji's office and knocks on the wooden door politely. 

 

"Whose there?" Hanji's muffled voice asks from the other side. 

 

"Hanji, it's me" Eren answers quietly. 

 

He hears something knocking off and a hell lot of shuffling after which Hanji opens the door suddenly. Their hair looks seriously messed up and eyes look tired, yet their face looks extremely relieved when they see Eren. 

 

"Ah Eren! Come in kiddo!" They exclaim happily.

 

Eren ducks in after them inside the room and walks past Hanji to sit in the chair. He stares at the wooden desk in front of him which has a computer, some paperwork, Hanji's blackberry and a picture of Petra encased in a heavily embossed photo frame on it. He smiles at that; Hanji maybe really crazy but they did love their girlfriend very much. 

 

He looks up as Hanji shuffles by him and sits down in the chair opposite to him. They type in the computer something very quickly before turning to Eren to pay full attention to him. 

 

"Kiddo?" They ask with such warmth and care that Eren cannot help but spill out everything without being prompted further. He watches Hanji's eyes go wide as dinner plates but he cannot stop talking now that he has started speaking once; he talks about the conversation, the letters, the roses and the visits, and the one thing that has been plaguing his mind the most: the nickname. Rivaille calls him his jewel, will he ever figure out why?

 

Eren feels like a terrible burden is raised off his shoulders as he shares his fears. He watches Hanji soak it all in without a word and Eren is about to ask if they're okay when they look up at him with such fierce protectiveness that Eren cannot help but feel relieved. He knows he shared what he did with the right person. 

 

"Eren.. honey this is a mess, this is going to have to involve the police now, I'm sorry" Eren shrinks back in his chair, deflated, "but while that is happening, I need you to be careful. You have no idea what you're dealing with, even the best police officers, CIA and FBI couldn't catch this guy, and he has the whole nation fearing him. That very person has taken an interest in you and this is grave, kiddo, we need to put security around you to protect you. Don't come in to work tomorrow and do not leave your house till I get some arrangement, understand?"  

 

Eren nods and he feels crushed, hearing from a police officer that he is in danger from such a macabre killer is frightening enough, now knowing he will have security too? Eren loves freedom too much, it is one of his most prized possessions; knowing he will have to give this up for sometime didn't sit well with him, at all. 

 

*

 

After he leaves and goes home, he calls up Armin. Sure he cannot go anywhere but he can still call his friend over to meet him at his home, right?

Armin picks up his phone at the first ring and he doesn't question Eren too much, he quickly checks if he is free-which he is-and agrees to visit Eren tomorrow. Eren smiles at the thought of seeing his blond bestfriend, and wonders what they will do tomorrow before promptly forgetting about it as he yawns sleepily when he settles in his cool bed. 

 

***

 

"So," Armin drawls; he is sitting on the comfy sofa and he sifts through his phone which dings every few seconds, signalling that he is talking to someone. Eren brings over some fresh popcorn and sits down beside Armin with a smile. It is a normal day and the sun is shining brilliantly outside and in all is a very nice day but Eren cannot appreciate it; he is lost in his thoughts and ever so often he looks at the single red rose sitting innocently at the kitchen counter. When the rose had been found that night, Eren's mom reasons that someone must have been passing by and seen Eren through the periods the door was left ajar, and must have left it as an act of human compassion. Eren nods all along, but he is the only one who knows about the note he has received. No, this is far from an act of compassion, this is an act of a crafty serial killer. He is so lost in his thoughts that he doesn't notices Armin talking till he hits him with a kernel on his face. 

  
"Ouch!" Eren hisses and stares at his smirking bestfriend. 

 

"Are you listening to me? or are you gonna be lost in your thoughts the whole day?" Armin asks. 

 

Armin is behaving very normally and Eren is surprised that Annie hasn't told him what had conspired in the past few weeks. He expected so, since Annie is dating Armin. He may have to ask her later but right now he is really glad that she had kept quiet. 

He isn't ready to talk about Rivaille with his bestfriend, yet. 

 

Instead he uses the lack of awareness to his advantage. 

  
"Say Armin," Eren begins hesitantly, "If I wanted to find out more about a..criminal, how can I?" 

  
Armin looks over at his bestfriend in confusion and Eren knows why, Armin knows he doesn't like talking about people who are on the wrong side of the law, or anything related to them infact, the only thing he remotely shows interest is in trials to put the dangerous criminals behind the bars since it appeals to his sense of justice, then why is he being so interested in this right now? 

 

"Why such sudden interest?" He asks curiously. 

 

"Well," Eren scratches his head, _Well, Rivaille, the most feared serial killer is behind me and I want to know why_ , but he knows he cannot say this so he hastily makes up an excuse, "There has been some... robbery going on in this area I know of recently, so I want to... find out what is exactly going on." 

  
Armin is still staring at him with one eyebrow raised and it clearly shows that he doesn't believe the excuse- Eren knows it- cause he asks next, " Aren't you working in the MP building? can't you directly find it out from the police?" 

  
_Shit_ , Armin had him there. 

  
Eren shakes his head, "And why would I want to disturb the police there for such a stupid question? You know what? I'll find it out myself, thanks for the help!" Eren says bitterly. He needs Armin's help cause he is the only one who Eren can trust that can find out about Rivaille quickly. He decides to give him the silent treatment because he knows Armin absolutely hates that, and he is right, after a few minutes Armin quickly shakes his head and smiles at Eren in apology, "Hey! Sorry! My best bet is going to the MP's official website, or checking out the CIA and FBI sites. They always have information on the criminals around here, but I guess low level criminals are still updated on their database."

  
"Thanks Armin," Eren smiles at him gratefully, and stores away the little snippet of the information for later use. 

 

*

  
It is in the evening that Eren starts to research about Rivaille, and in his bedroom surrounded by his pillows and blankets, he snuggles in to learn more about this macabre killer. 

 

He visits the MP website first and clicks around the website till he finds the link he is looking for: Criminals on the loose. The website refreshes itself and a new page loads which has hundreds of small boxes that have pictures in them. He clicks on one and he sees the name of the criminal, the crime they have committed, their basic information and where they were last seen, and right in the bottom of the information box was describing how dangerous they are, for the particular person Eren is looking at, the criminal is listed as a person who stole thousand dollars but is not considered very dangerous, yet approaching him was still inadvisable.

  
Eren skims through the thousands of boxes to look for the ones that have no face in them cause he knows that no one knows how Rivaille looks like. And after scrolling through he finds out that right at the bottom of the page were the boxes with the shadowy outline of a generic person indicating that there weren't any pictures provided for the criminals belonging to the boxes. Eren recognizes a few names; they were the terrorists, serial rapists, and bloodthirsty gangleaders which the society feared; but right below those names were the one he has been looking for. 

  
**_Rivaille_**  
_[picture: none]_

_Gender: Male._

_Age: [unknown]_

_Last seen: Canada._

 

_Description: Rivaille has been charged with thirty-six counts of second degree murders and eight more cases where his involvement is suspected are pending in the court. He is a ruthless killer who kills without a regard for human life and attacks without a need for confrontation. **DO NOT ATTEMPT TO GO NEAR HIM.**  If you see someone suspicious outside your house, lock your doors and secure the windows immediately, or run away to a safe place and contact the police **right away** if you're outside. He is extremely dangerous and volatile, and he is a great menace to the society and must be caught immediately. If you have any information about him, contact the MP police at.. _

 

  
Eren shivers and he stares at the little box for so long that his eyes start to go numb. He blinks and then closes the website and searches on Google for other results, and there are many. People have websites dedicated to him, calling him the apocalypse, the angel of destruction Abaddon or even Lucifer himself; while there were cult followings dedicated to him and to 'grisly death of human kind', then there was blogger who is a mother whose son had been killed by Rivaille and she was begging for justice, and another blog was about a victim who described how he received a call from Rivaille on one cold night and wrote that it was the worst day of his life and how he cannot sleep in the night peacefully anymore as he could still hear the screams of the victim while her throat was getting slit slowly; he says he can still recall the gurgle of her voice as she hung on the tendrils of her life, and the laughter of the man that he could only describe as something similar to being a harbinger of death. Other searches were news article on him, talking about his methods of killing which were throat cutting, choking, dismembering to name a few,  all the methods were there apart from any that led to a swift death. He let them to bleed to death, begging for their lives the whole time, but those were the few stray cases since Rivaille had done worse. These people were incredibly lucky cause most of the times he liked to make people suffer longer before finally killing them. Eren thinks the worse case is when he reads about how one woman was left deep in a forest where she was found restrained with a rope by a tree. There hadn't been any signs of trauma or any injuries on her, she was just left there to die by starvation. Eren shivers as he reads some more but he stops when he cannot take it in anymore. This is horrible, Rivaille is horrible, but how is a killer who commits crime in such a gruesome way and on a large scale has never been caught even once?

 

Eren scrolls down Google and finds his answer; there was a site claiming that there was a surveillance video footage of a grocery store that captured Rivaille killing an innocent bystander. Eren clicks on it and sifts through the popping ads till he finds the video. At first he is disappointed to see that it is the nighttime and there are hardly any lights there, but he makes out a figure scrolling on the footpath beside a building. The man walks only for about five seconds before someone sneaks up behind him with a knife. Eren is transfixed as he watches the man jump on the unsuspecting victim, noticing that he doesn't go for the vital organs first, but the hands and feet before finally plunging the knife in the stomach with a deadly grace that reminds Eren of a gymnast. He strikes hard and quick, and watches as he takes out the murder weapon and leans down to wipe the knife off the rapidly bleeding and crying victim's shirt. He gets up elegantly and steps away from the scene and walks away like nothing had occurred. 

 

Eren watches the retreating figure disappearing frighteningly quick and muses that this is why no one has caught him yet. The man is like a death god. He strikes fast, and disappears like mist; one second he is there and the next second he is gone. There are bystanders rushing in by now but the person is long dead, either due to the shock of the pain or from the rapid bloodloss before the video goes black. 

  
Eren leans back on his bed and he cannot wrap his head around the fact that he is dealing with this. This is the man is who is sending him those drug infested roses and calling him his jewel, _this man._

  
  
He stares at the outside till his computer screen goes black and his wall clock strikes twelve; and he hears the tick tick of the clock heralding midnight. Getting up is hard but Eren rouses himself so his legs don't fall asleep and heads to sit beside his bedroom window. 

  
What has he gotten himself into? was Eren going to die painfully too? shit, Eren was too young! he was eighteen and he had his whole life ahead of him; going to college, getting a job, falling in love, adopting a pet, and globetrotting around the world with Armin, was this all going to come to an abrupt end? was he really going to die just because he happened to be the one who took that call that one dark day? 

  
He didn't even know what to think, Rivaille had told him that he wasn't the target but who could trust a homicidal killer and his motives? Eren thinks that he should start writing his will now, because he is good as dead, but this thought irritates Eren to no end. 

  
Fuck this, this was Eren fucking Jaeger and no one could play with him like this! he maybe be hotheaded and believes he can fight everyone but he knows that is not true in this case; he is up against an experienced murderer and he knows he can't get his way out of this, but he'll try, he'll try to survive as long as he can.

   
***  
  
Armin is back the next evening around seven and so is Hanji, it surprises him first when he sees them on the doorstep but quickly lets them inside. They're here with the policemen that are patrolling him. Armin looks worried and confused as to what is happening but Hanji quickly tells him that the policemen patrolling outside are their friends and they're just here for a quick visit to Eren to see how he is doing. Eren knows this excuse isn't going to work tomorrow or the day after but he is glad that Armin still doesn't know about what is going on in his life. He can enjoy a few hours till his perceptive bestfriend can figure this mess out and he will be forced to explain this all, again. 

  
Hanji sits by him and talks to him and between the hushed whispers of 'Kiddo, I'm here, you're safe' and Armin talking animatedly about how he respects the police force, still blissfully unaware of the tense atmosphere, Eren finally starts to feel like he is at ease, and he knows that atleast he can relax for a few days before the shit goes down. 

  
"You know what?" He listens Hanji say excitedly after sometime, "We should order takeout! I'm soooo craving chinese!"   
Eren laughs and agrees while Armin says he wants pizza. Hanji gets up and decides to order them both and Armin rises after that too, he goes to call his grandfather to tell him that he will be eating over at Eren's. 

  
Hanji returns after a few minutes and settles in beside Eren, they look around and when they see that Eren is alone, they begin seriously, "There are two men outside and they're going to be patrolling after six pm to twelve pm. Rivaille usually strikes around this time so this should keep him away." 

  
Eren nods unhappily, "I get off at five pm, what will I do for an hour after my shift ends?" 

  
Hanji smiles gently at him then, "You hardly spend time with us, and between now and next few weeks are crucial cause the police is going to be swarming you. That one hour you can spend with us in the office, can't you kiddo?" 

  
Eren is oddly touched, Hanji cares for him so much and it makes him almost want to weep with gratitude; they genuinely want to spend time with him and this is really touching. He opens his mouth to tell just how much he loves Hanji when there is a knock on the door. Hanji gets up happily and says excitedly, "Oh my gosh! the food is finally here!! Want to guess which arrived first, kiddo? The pizza or the takeout?" 

  
Eren bets on the takeout and Hanji winks in agreement, they hum as they open the door and see that no one is standing there.   
"This is odd.." Eren hears Hanji whisper and then they suddenly cock their head sideways as if they're listening for something.

 

"Eren," they growl, "get behind me."  
Heart racing, Eren listens quickly, he hears Armin's carefree voice from upstairs and nothing else, except maybe the swaying of the trees, yet he trusts Hanji; they were trained to distinguish danger so if they were so tensed up then there must be something wrong. 

  
After a few minutes of standing by and only sound accompanying them was their harsh breaths and racing heart, Hanji slowly lowers their gun Eren hadn't seen them taking out.

They pad across the driveway, towards the patrolling car, to ask the policemen if they had noticed anything suspicious. Eren watches Hanji go by the window of the car and knock on it, before frowning and opening it. 

  
Eren runs forward when he hears Hanji scream, and he reaches just in time to see a police man, who he hadn't known, slumped in the driver seat, while his colleague was looking at the driver with his face frozen in eternal shock as his last expression before death. Hanji stumbles back and the driver's body falls off the seat. 

  
Eren rushes to hug Hanji, but he cannot look away from the bodies, and in his haste he stumbles on one outstretched arm of the dead body, and notices in dread as Hanji leans down and picks something up from the pocket of the fallen man.

 

"Er-Eren.." They croak and Eren takes the paper out gently from their hands. He knows who sent him this, he knows who killed the innocent men, yet he opens the paper and reads loudly.

 

_Take this as a final warning, If you dare try to keep me away from my jewel then I'll make this little town a living hell. No one gets in the way of me and my property. No one._

  
_Rivaille._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rivaille's favorite cat in Neko Atsume is Tubbs. That is all I have to say.


	4. Rivaille's reveal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren is out on the street when he is attacked, and Rivaille doesn't take his jewel being hurt very well

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit 100+ comments and kudos in three days and Im going to cry. I love you all so much.  
> I'm so happy right now!
> 
>  
> 
> On another slightly unhappy note, guess who is feeling sick?  
> Anyways this means that I might not be able to get in the chapters as quickly as I usually like to but oh well, I'll try.
> 
> Without further ado..

The police is swarming Eren's house now; Eren's parents and Armin's grandfather rush to his home and find Eren looking at the bloody car with a glassy look in his eyes. He holds a piece of paper tightly in his clutches but no one pays attention to that.

 

Carla is screaming at the police cause they wouldn't let her go near Eren, and Grisha tries to calm her down while listening to a police officer explain to him exactly was going going on: two policemen were brutally murdered and Rivaille is the prime suspect behind this gruesome act. 

  
By now the patrol has increased to six people guarding Eren at all hours and he is under house arrest; at no cost he is supposed to go outside except when he is in the police headquarters where he will be escorted daily by police for his job.  

  
The media is alerted of the murders too.

  
They are more aggressive than the police and they bombard anyone they can get hold of for scoop on what is going on. Everyone knows the gist of what had occurred; the most feared serial killer on loose is stalking a high school student and is killing anyone who is near him in any sense.

  
Which raises another question, does this mean that Rivaille is in this town now? 

  
There are petitions going on all around for Eren to be shifted to another city or country entirely, while some others advocate to use him as a bait to catch Rivaille. And between them he is being questioned daily by the police and Hanji escorts him like a personal guardian and helps Eren to explain the story all over again and again to police everytime they ask him to recount the story.

  
He is exhausted by the week's end; he had been called twenty-nine times by news channels, tabloids, and even some directors who wanted to make his twisted life into a movie, but worse are the calls he gets from his friends and classmates. They're asking him about what is going on but Eren doesn't reply to them, after all he himself doesn't have the answer to that.  
Hanji visits daily and his parents take leave from their jobs for a week too, but sooner or later they would have to go back, but when they finally do they're escorted by the police there too.

 

Everything is a like a sensory overload for Eren because there is just too much that is going on, except for the prime culprit behind the reason of his suffering cause Rivaille is being suspiciously inactive.  
There are no new murders taking place but still the town is on high alert. They cannot help but wonder when he is going to strike next. Eren doesn't appear in public anymore, the one friend who is allowed to visit him is Armin and he is the only one who keeps him company as Eren cries on his shoulder daily, this poor boy had no idea about what was going on and he is exhausted as he waits for this dreadfully ordeal to end quickly. 

 

***

  
When it's mid week and nothing is happening, the media coverage begins to wane. They don't have any new footage of Eren or his family so they resort to the family pictures but that is it, and since nothing new is happening and more important things take place instead, they shift their attention elsewhere. Even the high alert is called off by the town mayor and people comfort themselves by thinking that if Rivaille had to murder anyone, he would have done so by now.

  
But his cult following and other equally dangerous people are swarming the town now. Rivaille is kind of like their god and they want to see him, meet him, and so the other crimes start to rise in the city. Fast.  
Eren is still stuck in his home, his green eyes are looking all over restlessly for any signs of suspicious activity. The doors to his house remain ajar as police keep coming in and going out. Every hour the police officers congregate in front of his house to make sure everyone is alive and to ask if someone has noticed if anything was amiss, the answers are always none until this one time when one of the men patrolling said that he felt someone was staring at him ominously, and slowly, others join in with a nod and say that they felt the same, and everyone comes to a spine chilling conclusion that someone is watching the house, very, very closely. 

 

Eren starts his work again but a police officer always escorts him inside- even in the cubicle, and he doesn't even see the point of doing the job anymore because every call he receives is filtered and people who do get through get starstruck when find out that they're talking to him. His only highlight of the week is that he saved a pet shop from being robbed. That's it. 

 

He gets annoyed more often and is snappy. Yet everyday he cries himself to sleep because his life has gone haywire. 

 

***

 

One Friday he decides that he had enough, and calls up Armin and asks him to come and hang out on Saturday evening. Armin agrees and Eren forms a plan in his mind. He was sitting here like a helpless duck and his freedom was on the line so he had to do something about it now. 

 

The next day when Armin comes over Eren acts like everything is normal. Armin looks over him in worry like he did nowadays because of the recent events but Armin is still a blessing in disguise, he acts like normal around Eren other than that and the brunet is incredibly thankful for that, cause he was the only one who is treating Eren like he is a human anymore.

 

Eren gets cold drinks and decides to watch a movie, the original Texas chainsaw massacre of all,  and when the movie is almost at the end, he decides to execute his plan. He begins to notice who keeping a watch over him, and finds out in delight that even though the police officers are standing by the main door, they don't pay enough attention to Eren, after all he is watching a movie, what harm can come out of that? 

 

_Time to put the plan through._

 

"Hey Armin," he says loudly, "Let's go to the kitchen and get more stuff to eat" Eren gets up before Armin can complain about how he can get more food himself, and pulls him up and to the kitchen. The kitchen joins the backyard by a huge french door just right to the island. Eren strides past the kitchen and into the backyard, taking a very confused and sputtering Armin with him who pulls back at the very last minute before Eren storms out. 

 

"What are you doing!" Armin whispers urgently, as Eren looks around to make sure no one has noticed the commotion of him trying to escape. 

 

"Just..just going to take in some fresh air, why don't you come along with me?" 

 

"Eren-" but Eren cuts him off quickly.

 

"I'm fucking stuck here Armin while a deranged killer is behind me for some fucking reason and I'm going crazy over here and fuck, I just want to go outside, that's it!" Armin hesitates but he sees his bestfriend's eyes blaze with determination, and so he quickly nods and opens the glass door.

 

Normally Eren hates the summer air which always makes him sweat but right now he is breathing in the fresh air like he has never been outside in his life before. He sees the dark sky twinkling with stars and trees swaying in the summer breeze and he almost breaks down in tears when he feels the gentle wind. He can even hear the light traffic on the road behind his house and can make out the distant pinpricks of streetlights.

 

"Okay, Eren..can we go inside now, please?" Armin pleads but Eren cannot hear him. He can taste that precious freedom he misses so much and regrets what he is about to do but he has to do it and so he turns to face Armin seriously. 

 

"I'm not going inside, I'm going outside." 

 

He stuffs his hand in Armin's mouth who is predictably going to shout for help and Armin shrinks at the fire blazing in those green eyes. 

The famous Eren Jaeger's determination is back and he wilts under it. 

 

"I'm.going.out" Eren hisses, "you can't stop me Armin! Come with me, we'll be back in less than twenty minutes, I promise." 

 

Armin looks at him and at the door quickly before sighing as he gives up, he cannot disagree that his free spirited bestfriend is suffering right now and he cannot say no especially when Eren is calling him along. Atleast he can make sure that Eren stays safe and is back before the twenty minute mark. He nods and Eren removes his hand from his mouth with happiness. 

 

They jump off the wooden fence with ease, and no one suspects a thing when they see two boys running away, one whooping the air with glee. 

 

*

 

Eren feels so happy that he is out, the air on his face and caressing wind in his hair feels so good that he doesn't feel like he can ever go inside his house anymore. He missed this so, so much. 

 

No one notices the teenagers, it is the summer break after all, kids were bound to be out. Eren asks if Armin has any money, which he does, and they decide to buy ice cream. 

 

"You really missed this, didn't you?" Armin says fondly as he watches his bestfriend lick his ice cream with pure happiness. 

 

"Yesss..." Eren sighs dreamily, "I mean I've been stuck in my house for so long.. hey! can we go to the park down the road?" 

 

After they finish their ice cream, Armin checks his phone and sees that it has only been twelve minutes since they've been out and so he nods. They head down the road and Eren giggles and sighs as he looks around like he is seeing this all for the first time. 

 

Armin makes a mental note to never take his freedom for granted again, ever. 

 

Eren is so happy that he doesn't see a group of people approaching them, but Armin does. He pulls Eren sideways, hoping the rowdy men will leave them alone, it is when the men stop and one of the men point at Eren with pure glee, "Hey! It's you!" 

 

Eren tenses up and he knows that these aren't the usual bullies he beats up cause these guys are huge and definitely in their 30s unlike the other 19 year olds. How the heck did they know him? 

 

Eren pushes Armin behind him and growls, "What do you want?" 

 

The other men quickly take a notice of him and they spread around Eren and Armin, trapping them effectively. Eren readies himself for a fight that will definitely lead to his hands being broken, but he has to get Armin out of this first. 

 

"Go!" He pushes Armin towards the only opening, Armin squeaks at the sudden push but before he can do anything the men close in, blocking Eren from seeing his bestfriend. 

 

"So this is what has gotten Rivaille's attention, " one of them mutters gruffly and the others snicker. 

 

"Man, he is going for teenagers now, Hm?  Rivaille and his playtoys gets more and more interesting. " 

Eren looks around for escape desperately, he listens to Rivaille's name and curses in anger, ofcourse these men are here to see him because of Rivaille.

Eren presses his back against a building while a man runs his rough hands over Eren's face, Eren almost spits on his hideous face but cries out instead when one of them punches him hard in the stomach. 

"Tsk tsk, he is really delicate" 

_Delicate and exquisite._

"Mm I want to play with him longer, rough him up from outside and inside. What say, boys?" 

The others cheer the man speaking, and Eren realizes that he is clearly the leader, the man is physically stronger than the other men there; his arms were nothing but pure muscles which were flexing with anticipation and excitement. He wishes that Armin would hurry up and get help cause he won't be able to fight for these creatures for long.

 

He notices someone's hand on his clothes, trying to tear it off him when he feels his vision go dark.

 

_Hm?_

 

He looks around in confusion, and so do the others, the streetlights have gone off and the stretch is left in dark. Everyone looks around in confusion when Eren hears a clear voice ring out. 

 

"Off him, right now." 

 

It is almost surprising how quick the men disappear from Eren's vision but doesn't see where they go since he is fixated at a figure which he cannot see properly due to the darkness but can feel the aura of pure power radiating off him; he knows that voice, it was much more colder and smoother in real life yet he cannot believe it that he is finally meeting the man that has turned his life upside down. 

Rivaille makes his way towards him slowly and the other men cower, he doesn't approach Eren directly but goes to the person who had been taunting Eren just now: the leader.

"Ri-Rivaille" the man whispers weakly but Rivaille tuts him, almost gently. 

"I thought my kills made it evident enough that I do not stand anyone touching the things that belong to me. I think I need to make my demands much more clearer now." 

Eren stumbles back now that he his free and everyones attention is off him but his legs refuse to move as he watches Rivaille take out a knife from his backpocket and he looks at it as if he is studying it curiously. Eren tries to make out anything about this guy but he is wearing a hat and trenchcoat that makes him already less discernible than he already is in the darkness.  

 

"Rivaille, we just..just wanted to see the boy" another guy cries out and quickly scurries back into his other friends as Rivaille turns to face him.

 

"And who gave you permission to do that? Who gave you the permission to even look at my jewel with those tiny eyes and brains? Don't fucking think for one second that I do not know what you were upto, I haven't gained my reputation by laying down and letting my henchmen do all the work." 

 

Rivaille is still speaking gently and peacefully, and it makes it all the more scarier. This is a man that doesn't let anger rule him, he does what he does with clear conscience. 

 

Eren's heart is racing, and finally he realizes that he needs to run, now, while Rivaille was distracted. He needs to go to the police so they can finally put this grisly killer behind the bars where he belongs and then he can finally go back to living his life peacefully.  

 

But before he can get up, he sees Rivaille turn around towards him. It's dark and Eren cannot makeout anything about the guy in front of him but he still feels a shiver run down his spine as he can _feel_ Rivaille staring at him.  

"My jewel," he says in such a loving voice that shocks Eren.

 

"Ri-Rivaille" he whispers and watches in dread as Rivaille starts to walk gracefully towards him. 

 

He stops short in front of Eren and he can sense those eyes survey him and growl as they take in the torn shirt, but when he talks, Eren feels that voice caressing him like velvet. 

 

"You don't have to worry about these people anymore, I don't take it kindly when my things are touched. But you need to leave now because I need to finish the business here." 

 

Eren jumps up and he is ready to run away when he feels a gloved hand on his arm. He shivers as he turns around and see Rivaille holding his arm gently but firmly, "I'm leaving you right now but don't think for a second I won't be meeting you again. If I need to search over the world, I will, so do not think that I won't get my way with you. Tell that to those police officers of yours that they can't keep me away from you." 

 

With that Rivaille turns around and Eren watches him walk towards the cowering men before turning around and running away as quickly as possible, he reaches his house in record time and he finds the place bustling with people, probably looking for him. He sees Hanji, who is the first one to spot him, they scream and everyone look around and see Eren standing on the driveway. He is ushered inside the house quickly and everyone just engulf him. The officers take in his appearance and attack him with questions at once but they quieten down when Carla makes her way through, her eyes are red from crying yet they look incredibly angry as she leans in and slaps Eren hard on his face. 

He did deserve that. 

"HOW DARE YOU LEAVE THIS HOUSE EREN JAEGER," she is crying as she screams and hugs Eren hard. One of the police officer gently pry her away and someone else brings him a clean shirt. He donnes it on and then tell the police officers exactly what happened including the message Rivaille asked to relay, he watches people look at him fearfully and shudders run through the group as they hear Eren. He is exhausted by the end of his speech and his mom wraps her arms around him in comfort, and he falls asleep like that. 

 

***

 

The next day the police officers go to the place Eren describes where he had been attacked and finds the place looking like a bloodbath has taken place, people were lying there, their bodies cut in pieces, there were pieces of inner organs lying around and something suspiciously looking like bits of brain splattering the walls. The police officers look around for the man who Eren described as the leader but cannot find him. 

They know that if he is not here then that meant that Rivaille must have taken him, and they didn't want to imagine what Rivaille must have done with him which probably is equivalent to being in hell.

They turn around, sick, as they radio in for backup, Hanji is one of the earliest to respond.

"We won't tell about this to Eren, understand?" They command. 

Everyone nods but the tensions run high, everyone is wondering about one thing:  if Rivaille can attack people for just touching Eren, what will he do if Eren ever gets seriously hurt? 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter won't be an update in the story but it will finally be Levi's point of view! We have to see what out lover.. um serial killer is upto, right? 
> 
> From there on, I strongly advise you guys to check the tags whenever I update, because it is time to change the rating of this fic to Explicit  
> And I think you all know why, so just a heads up for anyone who might be uncomfortable!


	5. The making of a ruthless killer.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here it is, the first chapter of 2016!!  
> Happy New Year my lovely readers, may this year be gayer than ever!
> 
> So this chapter was the hardest fucking chapter I've ever written because Levi is hard to write, and I had to recall what I had written in the previous chapters (Because only I can forget what I had written just three days ago) and you won't find every single detail up here but enough to make sense of what is going on. 
> 
> Please pray for Eren, cause he is so fucked. 
> 
> A/N: I was so sick that I didn't reply to those lovely comments neither did really edit this chapter, when I'll be better I'll try to edit it again. Till then, have fun reading!!

His name is Levi Ackerman, and he is the marketing executive of a highly successful company. 

Levi wasn't really interested in his job, had it been upto him he would have been working somewhere less annoying and dirty, but this shithole of a job paid well but the fuckers sent him all over North America to make deals with other CEOs of influential companies. Levi has what they need for the job to get done: he is highly manipulative, and can be incredibly charming but menacing when someone thinks they can play him. His company adores him, cause Levi never stops till he gets what he wants. 

They think that Levi's possessive nature comes naturally but no one knew that this is how his double life as a serial killer began. 

He remembers them vaguely but the feelings still remain strong after so many years; Farlan and Isabel were the reason he began killing ruthlessly, they had been off on a vacation in Mexico when a drug cartel had taken notice of them. It wasn't easy to miss how incredibly suave Levi, energetic Isabel and smart Farlan were, and wanted them as members in their shady business, but these three had given up doing wrong years ago when they stopped living on the streets. But this didn't sit well with the drug cartel and they wanted to kill the three of them for rejecting such a prestigious offer. 

 

Levi remembers how Isabel and Farlan had been murdered in cold blood so quickly; they were just 23, in the height of their young lives when both of them died because they didn't want to do someone else's dirty business anymore. Levi had been the last one planned to be killed- and while he cried over the dead bodies of his bestfriends, something snapped inside him and a deadly beast awoke. All he could remember was obliterating everyone there with the only thought in his mind was revenge for Isabel and Farlan. _His_ friends. 

And ever since loosing them, Levi made promise to himself that he would never ever suffer from that kind of pain again- by protecting the things that belong to him at any cost. 

He wasn't a hoarder neither was he frugal. The things he owned were near and dear to him but they were few. He didn't care for anything other than the few stuff he owned but if someone dared to touch his belongings Levi would kill them without hesitating, and it didn't matter whether it was his car or his cravat, nobody touched them. He didn't attack anyone unprovoked but happened to frequent the shady areas of the places he was forced to go for the business deals since he was interested in the illegal weaponry that was traded in the deep underground and if Levi likes something then there is no price high enough for him to pay. By now he has an incredible collection of intricate murder weapons that he has used over the 6 years since his career as the infamous serial killer began. 

Unfortunately for others, they tend to notice outsiders. Levi knows his face attracts people both out of curiousity and lust. He has many suitors far and wide and can't care less enough about them, until they stupidly try to touch his money or his things to bring attention to them, it is always a bad idea because Levi always ends up murdering them in cold blood without a care. 

He really doesn't feel anything about murdering- not happiness, not regret- he just doesn't care. He feels like he is a sociopath but he knows that it is not true. After all, it that were so then how does he care so much about Eren?

 

 _Eren, Eren, Eren_ , that is the only name that plays in his mind like a broken record. He doesn't think of anything other than that boy, what must he being doing now? Did anyone touch him? _His_ precious property?

 

Levi reflects back to when his obsession with the high school student began. He had been in the town of Maria for a business meeting when he had been driving past a secondary school during the lunch hour when his car decided to break down. He had to get out and call the 911 to get help and he stares at the students as he waits for the aid to arrive. It had annoyed Levi to no end because fucking dirty kids; they were making him go mad at the amount of garbage they were carelessly throwing around like they were little children rather than young adults with slight decency. Levi had almost turned around in disgust towards the bus stand when he spotted the brunet walking out of the school doors laughing, and at that moment all Levi could see was him. It was very similar to a shitty romcom movie where the hero can only see the heroine while everyone becomes a blur around her, but damn if that wasn't the case here. He couldn't see anyone else other than that boy, the sun shone brightly overhead and it lighted up his sun kissed skin and chocolate brown locks in the most delectable way. He watched those red lips turn up as he laughed at something and those eyes, _god those eyes_ , those deep green emerald gems were lighted up in such a carefree and happy manner, and they were like the most precious jewels Levi had ever seen in his life, and Levi had seen a lot since he first began killing. 

The tow truck had come in then to take his car away and Levi had to reluctantly leave with the stupid fucking company issued car, he glanced at the beautiful boy for the last time before leaving to get his car fixed regretfully.  

***

His name was Eren Jaeger and he was a 17 year old student who loved to hang out with his friends and play video games. Levi found out more and more about the teen who had captured his attention so quickly and turned his life around. He studied him; his movements, his family and friends and looked for any love rival who dared to think of Eren more than a friend. He was enamoured with the boy completely- with his well maintained lean body, that sun kissed tan and those brilliant jewel like eyes, but those were just physical aspects which made him perfect- the more he learned about the boy's behaviour the more he fell for him, Levi watched the brunet as he protected people he perceived were weaker than him, he got roughed up often and it had taken all of Levi's self control not to attack those men who fought Eren and pick up the boy and just disappear, but he had to bide by his time, that was his only consolation; _soon_ , soon he'd make a move when the time was perfect.  

Levi formed his analysis on Eren: he was kind, was so innocent, pure, and so beautiful that Levi had to covet him. And as he watched the boy get ready for his 18th birthday, Levi formed a plan to make his move to do that. 

18 year olds were always mistaken to think that they own the world, they were carefree and on the cusp of adulthood and so were vulnerable. What was a better time to strike than that? 

Levi smiled as he imagined what he'll do with Eren once the boy is in his arms, in his rightful place, he'd break Eren apart and put him together, just to break him again; he'd do it till Eren's defences break and those determined beautiful green eyes submit to Levi, and Levi didn't care that Eren was willing or not, Levi would show him who owns him. And he'll do it in anyway possible. 

As desperate as he was for the boy, Levi has to execute his plan carefully, because, even though he went by the name of Rivaille, he couldn't trust someone to figure out who he was. After all that name sounded suspiciously like his own, and murders always tended to occur where Levi went to do business. It was amazing how ignorant the human race can be, even when the clues were right there they still didn't put the pieces together- not that he is complaining, he gets his way because of this advantage. He hates to think that Eren is surrounded by people like these, and cannot help but be glad when his plan finally takes a shape to get his jewel out of this place.

His first part of the plan is unfolded when Eren is out of his house one evening and no one is there. Levi breaks in the Jaeger house with a practised stealth and closes the main door behind him and surveys the house. It is a medium sized room which has an open floor plan; the main entrance was in the living room which led to a kitchen that was joined to the backyard with French doors. It wasn't very difficult for Levi to find the places he needed to hide the tiny devices to bug the entire house. He hides the little voice recorders in deep crevices of the house that Levi knows that no one would ever even dream of searching in. Levi was a clean freak after all, he knew the nooks and crannies where people forget to always clean because they're that invisible, and that knowledge helps him as he hides the electronics carefully. Now when someone talks he will be able to hear them clearly, but he wasn't done yet, he looks over at the left over devices he had brought in and smiles at the tiny black cameras which he picks up and places them inside his palm.

Those were meant for Eren's room. 

He studies the house and the escape routes as he makes his way upstairs. There are three rooms joined by a hallway and Levi walks through everyone and bugs them accordingly. He makes sure to hear the creaks of the aged wood in the floor and commits the faulty areas to his memory so that he doesn't step over them _when_ he comes back again. After checking through every room except the last one down the hall, he enters it and stops as he smells a natural boyish scent that Levi expects how Eren would smell exactly. He looks around the small room and smiles, thinking how his Eren spends his time here. Levi sets up the cameras and tsks in disgust when he finds so many blindspots but all the more the better. He discovers the closet has clothes strewn around carelessly and it works in his advantage because no matter how fucking unhygienic that was if he were to hide here no one would suspect, and he does that. His small body fits in with ease and he is surrounded by Eren's things, and from his vantage point he can see Eren's bed and thinks that he has found his happy place.

 

After a quick glance over he leaves quietly the way he comes in and waits for his pretty prey to come back in his house. 

  
***

 _Hi.. this is Eren Jaeger calling in, um, I would like to volunteer as a 911 dispatcher, how can I do that...wait .. I can sign up on phone? Yes I would love do that!.. um, assigned? I'll be assigned to someone named Hanji? Sure! When can I come in.. yes I know the address.. thank you so much!_ Levi hears the conversation Eren has on phone when he checks on him like he does periodically and smiles at the enthusiastic boy. He knew Eren would do something like this to complete his volunteer hours, because his jewel likes to help people in need. He carefully notes when Eren starts his work at the MP building and begins to plot the second part of his plan. 

***

His victim is a 38 year old delivery man who makes a move on him when Levi orders the expensive roses to his room. He knew his ethereal good looks can make anyone go weak on their knees and he has studied human brain enough to know that they were ruled by their stupid, finicky emotions. He sways his hips as he turns around in his room and the man stupidly follows him inside before closing the door, but before he can even reach for Levi he is pinned against the wall with a small knife at his throat. Levi snorts in disgust when the man doesn't even last a second, he is dead before Levi has even finished slitting his throat. He steps back and looks around his penthouse he is renting for a place to hide the body till he can dispose it off and then waits for 4:00 pm to approach eagerly since he that knows it is the peak hour when people's jobs get over and he knows almost all the dispatchers are going to be busy with the calls, so he should be able to reach the newbie after some tries..

He gets in the second try and hears that sweet voice ask how he can help him. Levi cannot help the delicious shudder that runs through him at that,  _Eren, his Eren was talking to him_. He wants this boy so bad that he is a second away from storming in the MP building and taking him there and then, his plan be damned, but he has to wait, and he knows when he finally makes the move Eren would be his to do anything he wants to do to him. 

He makes his first move at Eren and call him his jewel, he can hear the fear in his voice and chuckles thinking that Eren wasn't wrong when he thought that he was the target, but doesn't know what Levi is actually targeting him for. He teases the boy while his mind chants a string of ' _soons'_ repeatedly in his mind. 

***

He goes to the tailor for refitting of his attire, and it is a high end shop and they are very good and professional at what they do, there were no questions asked as Levi picks up his order and smiles as he puts the next part of the plan in the motion. He buys a cap that looks similar to the altered clothes and picks up the order of the drug he gave a local drug dealer near his hotel. It is from him Levi learns more about the local criminals and another facet of the plan starts to unravel in his genius brain. 

 

The next day he wears the deceased delivery man's shirt and pants which he had tailored for his body and hides his hair with a cap. For someone who is so subtle at what he does, Levi wears a very distinguishing hairstyle but he likes it, it makes him stand out from the ordinary crowd like he is meant to be. He picks up the roses the delivery man had brought over and smiles at the symbolization before lacing it with the drug he had bought. He pens down a little note for his jewel and leaves for the MP building. They let him in easily because of his uniform, and he heads straight for his most prized possession. Eren is sitting inside a cubicle when Levi gently touches his shoulder noticing how tensed and on a high alert he is, _perfect_ , and is he looks surprised when Levi holds the flowers out to him. 

"Eren Jaeger?" Levi asks softly, he coats his voice in honey but he is careful, he is surrounded by the police after all, for a great measure he acts like he is nervous, but doesn't put too much effort in it. Eren is surprised and he squeaks when Levi tells him the roses are for him, and in his surprise Eren doesn't even notice when Levi makes him sign on a blank white paper. He notices Eren staring at him and biting his lip when he studies him, and Levi doesn't think he has ever displayed a greater control on himself than he did then, all he could see was Eren, his property, appreciating him, and Levi wants to show he much he likes it- how much he likes jewel; but he smiles and heads back out gracefully, the second part of his plan couldn't have gone any smoother than that. Levi barely reaches his room before his swiftly unbuttons his pants to free his hard cock. His hands are around it and he cannot hold back the moan that escapes him as he slides his hand up and down as the precum provides him with the perfect friction and Eren's panting body beneath him the perfect image to cum. He does a quick and shabby job but he can't lose his seed so easily, it was meant to fill up Eren, after all. 

He visits the nearest hospital to the MP building at night where Eren is kept after him fainting, and stealthily walks in his room, no one notices a thing and Levi leaves a rose by his sleeping jewel's face as he snores lightly. Levi leans in to kiss those full red lips of his greedily before he looks up and he stuffs the note in his tightened palm, he kisses that tanned skin lightly before pulling himself away as he hears Eren's nurse outside. The window leads to outside and smiles knowing who he has to thank that for, he makes a quick note to buy a gift for the person as he leaves through it and escapes in the night. 

***

The whole town erupts like it is on volcano after it is discovered that the gruesome killer they fear is in the town, Levi cannot help but sigh as he watches people shuffling around and whispering like idiots as they wonder when Rivaille is going to strike while walking past Levi without a glance except when they see his attractive face. He pushes past them in annoyance and walks over to a newstand and picks up the daily newspaper. He skims through the paper till he finds the page he is looking for; there was an entire page dedicated to Eren, it talks about his life and speculations of what is going on between him and Rivaille. Levi caresses the old picture of Eren printed in black and white and smiles when he sees that the news has no new pictures of him. He knows why is that, the police is keeping a strict watch on Eren and keep him away from the prying eyes of the media. Levi likes it that way, his jewel isn't made for anyone else's entertainment other than his own. 

It is still not enough though, and Levi watches in distaste when he sees only two police men patrol Eren, they were far too less for his taste and Levi makes a small change in his plan, and he takes out his gun to do the messy job for him. It is bloody but quick because of the silencer and Levi watches the bodies slump inside the car. He checks his phone and finds the police officer, Hanji, talk about getting the pizza and the takeout and times himself according to that. The second the bullet goes through the brain, Levi has his pen and a small sheet of paper out, and he pens the message in his elegant writing and leaves it for the occupants of the house to discover. His plan works out and the police is doubled at all times now, and his original plan is back in full swing;  now that the police are acting like Eren's personal security guard dogs, Levi can dispatch off any crooks and criminals he deems as a threat to Eren.

***

Maria is a small town and the word travels like a fire, the denizens of the underworld now know that the feared Rivaille is in the town and there is a bounty on his head. People want the money and Rivaille gone, because no one fears them as much as one fears him. They think that they can challenge the sleeping beast inside him with ease but Levi lays low. Goading and taunting him to come out was a cowardly way to call him out, and Levi knows  that being ruled by emotions and greed is the number one mistake people make which leads them to their doom. He doesn't really care enough about this, really, cause as long as the things he owns are safe he doesn't feel the need to kill unnecessarily, it was a dirty work and Levi likes cleaning but _not blood_. And this is why even though he was in the town he doesn't kill anyone, and the ones he does are the scum of the underworld and the police looks the other way at those murders. 

 

His plan was going smoothly, he kills people daily as he cleanse the town for Eren's safety and he knows that he should have been cautious but how did he know that one fucking afternoon his stupid brat would jump off the fence in his backyard because he couldn't take being stuck inside his house for a week? 

 

Levi almost cannot believe it when he checks his phone and sees Eren planning to escape, and wonders why the policemen haven't yet discovered him, Eren isn't exactly quiet because his enthusiasm makes him too loud, and Levi hopes for his bestfriend to make sense out of him.  He knows what a genius Armin is but Eren is too persuasive for his own good. 

He makes his way towards the yard quickly before Eren does anything stupid. He reaches there in five minutes with the running he did without breaking a sweat, and watches Eren and Armin running away from him with Eren whooping the air with unrestrained joy and Levi wonders how he'll tame this freedom loving boy who has stolen his heart. 

 

He doesn't let himself get distracted by the boy this time, Levi knows that the people of underworld know who Eren is thanks to the media, and they'll try to make a move on him to rile Rivaille up and use him to blackmail him, ofcourse Levi wouldn't ever let that happen but being careful was the wisest course of action at this point. 

 

He follows the two boys closely and watches them as Eren asks something to Armin quickly, Armin nods and Eren is all smiles after that, and those achingly beautiful jewel eyes were lighted up with pure happiness, Levi smiles at his brat but he comes to a halt when he senses something is wrong, and scans the street for danger and sees five men making their merry way towards the boys. Levi knows those fuckers were up to no good and so he quickly thinks about his next course of action and takes out the laser light he always keeps with him along with the assorted tools he carries around for emergency. 

It takes a good aim or two before he finds the photocell located on the top of the head of the streetlight and curses when the light goes off later than he would have liked it too. He knows the laser needs to be pointed at the photocell at all times and while he's busy focusing on that he hears Eren's cry of pain. It makes him see red, and his hands are shaking with anger as he feels the beast awaken inside him. Someone dared touch his property, his precious jewel Eren. 

The place plunges in darkness and Levi strides towards where Eren is surrounded. He hadn't meant for Eren to see him so earlier in his plan to covet him but fuck this, if the streetlights came on right now he will not stop till he makes these scum suffer for touching the most precious thing that belongs to him. 

"Off him, now" he says with gentleness that is laced with barely contained fury. 

Levi knows that the criminals will recognize his voice even though they won't recognize his face, afterall they had to be expecting he'd show up to protect Eren. They begin to cower as they sense the ominous aura off Levi and they know that they're good as dead. As he approaches them the men try to explain him why they attacked Eren, and Levi doesn't care for their bullshit because they're dead meat and his only concern was for his beautiful jewel, who had been leaning against the building, hunched over and Levi realized that he had been punched and someone tried to do a much more heinous act to him. The beast in him roars in bloodlust and Levi knows what he is going to do. He'll make these scum suffer for touching his property dearly and settles on ripping apart their innards and leaving it on the ground for others to find. This bloodbath should make it clear to everyone that he will not tolerate anyone touching his Eren. 

 

He watches as Eren takes him in and feels the beast inside him calm somewhat, Eren made him feel something he isn't used to: joy. He feels it stirring inside him, an emotion which had been buried along with Isabel and Farlan years ago. This boy, this pure boy who made him so happy was in pain in front of him and Levi would have picked him up and carried him away had he not had to deal with those criminals first, so he lets Eren go for now, but the intoxicating feeling of being near him was damn addicting and Levi sighs, knowing that it wont be to long before he claims Eren as his. He lets him walk away after he relays him a message;  he had enough of Eren being away from him and now he was ready to claim this boy, his prize for going through this much shitfuckery for him. 

He turns to the cowering men and smiles, the laser falls off its perch due to the wind and the streetlight comes back on. He watches people's eyes go wide as they realize that they're seeing the macabre killer who hid so well from others, and they shiver and cry out, _oh they do_ , it is like music as Levi carves them up, making sure they were alive before pulling their organs out. The heart comes out last and Levi looks at it, disgusted, before turning to kill the others. They try to attack him but Levi is quick and experienced and he doesn't stop till he is standing in front of the whimpering leader, drenched in the innards of the men who had been strolling with him not fifteen minutes earlier. He curls his fingers around the collar of the fallen leader and drags the stunned man deep in the buildings, through narrow pathways and towards a huge park. The man tries to fight back valiantly, but Levi doesn't relent, hell no, this man has to know what were the consequences of trying to touch his belongings the way he did.  

 

The lake looks like a calm mirror on the surface but it is incredibly deep, and it was the perfect personification of Levi. It was calm looking, and heart wrenchingly beautiful, but it was deceptively deep and was known for drowning unsuspecting people who tried to go near it. It is a nice evening and the water ripples in the breeze as Levi makes his way over, with the screaming and wailing man in tow. He steps away from the man and looks around for a rock, and finds a good size one which he picks up with ease, he turns around and sees the man scrambling up to escape and throws the rock at his feet with a deadly aim. It doesn't break his bones on the impact but the man cries out in pain and Levi searches through his pocket for a rope, one of his favorite methods is strangling after all, he carries a sturdy rope around him for this very reason. He walks over the sobbing man and ties the rope with the rock on one end and wraps the other end of the rope around the criminal's feet. He cuts off the rope and ties the hands behind the man to prison him. Levi opens his trenchcoat and wraps it around the man and throws his hat in the bushes. He takes off his own expensive shirt and trousers and neatly folds them beside the bank, he places his car keys and phone on top of them before he pulls the crying and sputtering man towards his watery death. The man is begging for his life now, and Levi revels in the pleas, but it doesn't sate the beast inside him. 

 

He carries the man across the dirt and pushes him in the water till the water is deep enough that he is drowning. The man screams as he goes down and Levi watches the weight of the clothes and the rocks sinking the man deep down in its dark depths. Levi watches the man from the surface as he swims above him before treading back to where his phone was placed. He checks the time and cleans the dirty knife as his phone _dings!_ in alarm which Levi had set for five minutes after and he turns back and dives in the calm waters again. He watches the man struggling and air bubbles rise as he frantically takes in his limited breaths and Levi dives down deep till he is face to face to the dying man. The man's eyes widen when they take him in but he is loosing his conciousness fast. Levi knows the burning in the man's lungs would stop soon and he'll start to hallucinate before finally dying, and so Levi pulls him up again and the man takes in a desperate breath as they break the surface. Levi watches the man regain conciousness and the colour comes back to his face and he waits for a few minutes before he retracts his arms and the man is sinking again. He does it over and over again, systematically pulling the man up and then pushing him down till the beast inside him calms down and he gets bored. He gets up and wears his blessedly dry clothes before covering his feet impression in the ground and taking off just as the dawn breaks. 

He heads for Eren's place before his own and watches how the security is still swarming around like a bunch of bees. _Perfect_. Levi can rest before the other gang members are alerted of their leader's demise and can try to attack him or Eren. They wouldn't go near him because of the police and Levi knows he can take care of anyone who tries to attack him. 

 

He hums peacefully and turns around as he takes out his phone and calls a number which will put the last part of the plan through, he waits as the phone rings and a sleepy voice picks up. 

"Hello?" A female voice mumbles. 

"Mrs. Jaeger," Levi whispers, making his voice sound frantic, "I'm a spy for Military Police and I have news from the underworld. There are men going to attack your son, ma'am, and you need to get him out of this town, right now."

***

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so I hope this explains what Levi is up to and damn, he plans everything ahead of him, doesn't he?


	6. A meeting in June

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa boy, sorry for the late update, I got distracted by this Ereri prompt (because I am an idiot) 
> 
> And I got more than 1000+ hits on this fic, and it only has been 6 days since I began writing this, wow.
> 
> Anyways, without further ado ..

Eren had been sleeping when his mother runs into his room and wakes him up, she is screaming at him to get up and get ready because they're getting out of this place and Eren is confused- wait what? _what is happening?_  
"Mom?" He asks blearily as he drags himself out of his bed. The air conditioner is cranked up and the cold air makes him shiver but Eren makes his way to his mom nevertheless. She is looking through his cupboard and rummaging through his stuff. He makes confused noises, and his mom turns around and looks into his eyes and she says again.

 

"We're leaving, right now."

  
_What?_  
"Why?" Eren asks, wide awake now. _Leaving? why were we leaving?_ had Rivaille found his house? Oh god-   
Eren's thought process is interrupted when his mom sniffs and says, "an undercover police officer called me up Eren, oh god he sounded so worried, he says that people from underworld are going to come and look for you if we don't get out right now."  
He stares at his fretting mom and tries to think back as to why people from underworld would care about his teenage ass; he has never done anything grievously wrong- wait did one of the bullies he beat up in the past finally come back with revenge? _no_ , that was stupid, but as he watched his mother stuff his things in a suitcase it struck him suddenly why he is in danger, the events of the last night come back to him and he is wide awake now, the gang who tried to beat him up, Rivaille's appearance, him saving Eren... 

 

Was that why the underworld was behind him?

 

Eren doesn't ask many question after that and quietly gets ready, he picks up his phone and charger as well as his favorite hoodie after which he steps out of his room and goes downstairs. He passes by the kitchen and notes that it is still dark outside and checks his phone for the time, it is just 3 am. He groans and turns around and sees his dad sitting in the living room with the car keys twirling in his index finger, he is arguing with two policemen in low voice but shuts up when he spots Eren. 

  
"Are we ready?" Carla comes up behind Eren and asks sharply. Grisha gets up from is seat and the two officers turn to face her.   
"Mrs.Jaeger what you're doing is wrong" one of them says gravely and the other nods along, Eren is cofused, his mom is all about how good the police is, they why is she going against them just on the word of some spy? He turns to her and sees Carla look at them with distrust shining her eyes as she mutters. 

"Well, that is not what the spy told me. " 

  
The other police man stares at her with anger, "We don't even know who the hell this spy is! we haven't received any orders from MP yet!" 

  
Carla huffs, "I don't know about that sirs, but I'm not having my son here waiting while you get orders! For God sake there is going to be an attack on him!" Carla ends with a scream and Eren realizes for the first time just how much stressed she is; the wrinkles on her face are more pronounced and so are the black bags under her eyes, she looks so tired and Eren is feeling awful cause he feels like it is his fault, and wasn't it? He hadn't listened to that call from Rivaille that one fated evening and now that lead to Rivaille chase him and torture him for some reason. He looks at the strongest person in his life look so exhausted and he hugs her hard to calm her down, Carla stiffens at the sudden movement before she relaxes and breaks down in sobs. Those are the only sounds in the quiet room for sometime before Grisha sighs and he shakes his head. 

  
"Gentlemen, we appreciate your services but our son's life is precious to us and we cannot risk it."

  
"Risk it?" one of the men echoes, " Mr. Jaeger we're here to save your son's life!"

  
"Is that how it is? then why was he attacked today under your watch? Clearly the police didn't do their job properly and we think we'll risk this one. I'll update you on our position hourly till we reach the city of Sina. Thankyou."

  
Grisha turns away from the now silent policemen and heads for the door, pulling his and Carla's luggage along. She pulls herself away from Eren with a watery smile and picks up the remaining luggage with his help and they walk out of the house in the chilly night.

 

***

 

Sina was a huge city with a populace of 10 million people, it neighboured Maria but is way bigger than the small town and is a very bustling city. Eren had been here once in his whole life when he was visiting with his father for a meeting and he remembers the huge buildings and the packed streets. Hiding here should be easier because blending in was simple, and he knows Rivaille or the underworld will not be able to find him here without difficulty . Due to his connections Grisha gets two room in one of the hotels in the hotel district. It is an extremely secure building surrounded by homes of influential people and famous tourist attractions, and for the first time Eren feels remotely safe. He gets his own room, and it overlooks the main street and the buildings of Sina. He was happy at first because of the scenic view and the fact that the room was bigger than his own back home and people were paid to clean it and he doesn't have to hear his mom harp about it; yet he starts to get annoyed after being roomed for a week because the city was loud. There are cars constantly honking and he can hear the conversations through his room faintly. He isn't used to this much sensory overload and it is driving him mad.   

He walks out of his room to his parents right next door. They keep the door open because they claim they want to be right there if Eren needs help, but he is not a kid, he knows that the reason they keep the door open is so that they can hear if anything that goes wrong with him. It is touching but he feels like a child who needs to be babied constantly.

He finds his parents talking about the call they had received earlier, Eren was there when Hanji had called in to say that they were right, the police patrolling noticed some men sneaking around and studying the house as if they were sizing it up. It was clear that these men were upto no good and the spy checked out, yet no one knew who it was because no spy has been appointed to find out what is going on. The best guesses were that it was a good Samaritan who called Carla up. Eren watches his mom talking about the caller and he cannot help but feel suspicious, why would anyone warn his family? Was this out of good gesture or somethig else?

 

But whatever it was, the people who wanted to hurt him must have left when they saw the police, even Rivaille wouldn't dare to enter his house with the amount of police assigned to his place. It should be safe to go back now, right?

 

He tells that to his mother and father and Carla shakes her head, now that they're out and in Sina she can finally breathe knowing that she doesn't have to be paranoid about every phone call she gets thinking it was something serious, she has her family right here and she had made her decision final: until the police makes the place safe for Eren they weren't going back. 

Eren was reasonably unhappy with that, he'd rather be stuck in a place he knew rather than be free in a place unknown. 

***  
  
It has been only a week since Eren has been in Sina. His dad had to go back to his office since he is a major doctor in the Stohess hospital and his mom is a scientist so it is important for her to leave soon, too. She keeps calling up the place she works at because she refuses to leave Eren alone but Eren knows she cannot afford to lose this job.

 

He lays in the bed in his room with only his phone to accompany him, he keeps looking at it in frustration as he checks it frequently for any messages, but the screen is empty and he feels like it is mocking him. Ever since moving to Sina he had to take his sim card out and get his social media accounts deactivated. He was slowly vanishing off the internet and he feels like he is disappearing from people's life too; he plays some games idly and chuckles at internet articles before he sees one with his face and clicks on it. It is an article that was demanding about his whereabouts: _Where is Eren Jaeger? It true that the police has deported him back to Germany? Find out more as our correspondent talks to the security!_  Eren reads the headline and he snorts, he has lived his whole life in Maria, could they seriously send him to another country? He feels like he has become a joke; people want to know what is happening to him not because they care, it is only because they want entertainment. His face was all over tabloids and he feels like his life has become a reality show now.   
Goddamnit, Eren is not meant for anyone's entertainment. He was a fucking 18 year old kid who wasn't meant to be the subject of shallow gossip! 

He skims through the article and another one catches his eyes, it was about Maria, and Eren's eyes widen because he knows the area the article is talking about, it was just two minutes away from his house! He clicks the article and reads the fine print about how a bloodbath took place there and Eren recognizes the place very well; he had been attacked right there. 

 

It was also the place where he had first met Rivaille. 

 

He reads in a morbid facination as he realizes what Rivaille did to the gang members who attacked him. In the picture provided by the article he could see their scattered.. innards? Eren is shocked; how come he didn't he hear about this?

 

He gets up and heads for his parents room to ask only to pause when he hears the hushed voices of his mom talking on the phone. He leans in to hear through the adjoining wall what she is saying and listens in her whispering to her friend about how she didn't know what to do anymore. Eren catches the gist of the conversation: his mom was worried because her husband was in a different city and her son is being targeted by a sinister killer and she didn't know what to do. The hotel they were in is influential, and the only one with an adequate security in the hotel district, but it was costing too much and they were tapping in their long term savings now. She is crying by the end of the conversation and she tries to stifle her sobs so Eren doesn't hear that. But he does, he pulls away after that and tears fill up his eyes, in his whole life he hasn't felt this awful before,  or like a burden, he was making everyone suffer around him. How had his life changed this much? he was just an ordinary kid who never wished harm on anyone, was this karma? payback for a lifetime he doesn't remember about?  
  
He is unable too look around the hotel room anymore, he feels like this room is mocking him about how much money is being wasted just because of him. He slowly walks over to where the door is and steps out of his room, he tiptoes past his mom's door and dashes towards the elevator before she can come out when she hears the creaking of the opened door. He enters the elevator and presses the ground button, and watches the door close on his floor, blocking the view to his floor. Eren somehow feels like he isn't going to be the same once he comes back.

  
Eren didn't check the weather before getting out and walks into a weather that is stormy at best. There are strong winds blowing about while dark clouds loom dangerously above him. He walks away from the hotel and past the rushing pedestrians looking for cover from the oncoming rain. The continuous chatter, clicking of footsteps and car horns is making Eren's head ache and he cannot wait till he escapes this noise. He knows Sina somewhat, having explored it last week when he had been looking for places to eat, but he hadn't gone past two blocks and he decides to explore it more, it should get his mind off the pressing issues somewhat. The buildings are flashy and the crowd is in a hurry still, as he explores, but the second he passes the hotel district the crowd thins considerably, Eren can see more of the nature now and cannot help but marvel in awe at the beauty of the city as thunder rumbles over him; it reminds him of that evening not so long along when Petra had first told him about the sinister killer calling at the MP building. Eren cannot believe how much has changed since then- had it only been less than a month? 

He kicks a small stone on his way and it skits away on the footpath, and he sighs in anger, confusion and pure frustration as he watches the small stone. He had no fucking clue as to what is going on and he feels like his life is spiraling out of control and he's hurtling down a deep dark abyss. As this point all he wants is to face Rivaille and scream at him and ask why, why is playing with Eren. What does he fucking want with him?  
  
He is so deep in thought that he doesn't notice as he runs in someone walking past him, he smacks in a firm chest and before he can fall a pair of strong arms are around his waist. 

  
"So-sorry," he stutters and he looks up in apology and his breath his stolen away as he is face to face with the most beautiful man he has ever seen, he has the most piercing silver eyes, and Eren feels like the time has stopped, how was it even possible to look so good?   
  
He is thunderstruck and the man chuckles at his expression but he doesn't let Eren go, instead he actually gathers Eren up and pulls him tighter to him and Eren is so lost in the face of the beautiful man that he doesn't notice it until his nose is touching with his. Those silver eyes he's drowning in.. Eren has seen those silver eyes somewhere.. 

  
He gasps as it strikes him, "You're the delivery man who gave me those red roses!" now Eren remembers where he has seen this man, back in the MP building when he had been delivering those drugged roses to him, _but why is he here in Sina?_  
His heart constricts when the man leans in and whispers in his ear with a smile, "Indeed I am. My jewel." 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm jagerbooty on Tumblr, come and say hi!


	7. The killer and his jewel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rivaille's plan is put through and now he has Eren, what will he do with him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to hell: Part one
> 
> So here it is, BUT BEFORE you begin reading it, Im just warning you all that it ends rather abruptly (yeah more abruptly than I usually do.) There is a reason for this; it is because the next chapter and this chapter were supposed to be the same but it became too large for me to edit (without being distracted by Neko Atsume, that is) and I just want to say that I'm sorry for where I ended it.If I had been a reader I'd hate myself for it, BUT that's the bad news! the good news is that between praying for forgiveness and giggling because I'm so bad at writing, I'm done with the 8th chapter! I wrote them both together so all I have to do is edit that one. Please don't hate me, the next chapter makes me cry. 
> 
> Without further ado..

"Rivaille" Eren echoes again, he cannot believe it, is this a joke? This man in front of him, he couldn't be the ruthless sinister killer, was he some actor hired by some media outlet to play a joke on him? Well he did have the good looks of a supermodel..

 

But only he calls him his jewel.

 

It finally strikes Eren that he is _actually Rivaille_ and he opens his mouth to scream but Rivaille is quick, and within seconds Eren's back is against a building and Rivaille pins him against it. He is smiling, and Eren notices with fear that his eyes have a very sadistic gleam to it. He struggles but the man is too strong. 

 

"Let me go!" Eren cries and his heart is racing fast, he cannot believe it,  _this is Rivaille,_ this was the macabre killer that murders in cold blood and who was behind him, and Eren feels like he was food waiting to be devoured by a hungry wolf now that he is caged by him.

 

"Let you go?" Rivaille murmurs, his voice surprisingly deep, "I haven't gone through so much to let you go now," he tightens his hold on Eren to stop him from struggling and Eren is shocked at how strong he is. He is shorter and much more thinner than Eren but he is made of pure muscles and his strength is titanium, Eren gasps as he is pinned and he cannot move. 

 

"What do you want from me?" he whispers weakly, if Rivaille wants to kill him now, he has the perfect opportunity to. No one was around them and Rivaille was too strong for him to fight back, yet Eren watches in surprise as those rough hands stained with blood of so many murders trace his collarbones so gently and slowly, it is like a whisper against his skin. This is it, he must be looking for the way he was going to kill Eren that is surely going to be slow and painful. 

 

Tears cling to Eren's eyelashes as he sobs, his life was turned upside down but he doesn't want to die. His mom and dad,  Armin.. oh gosh how will they survive without him?

 

Rivaille smiles and he answers serenely, "I only want you, my jewel." 

 

"Why? Are you going to finally kill me?" Eren spits out. If he was going to die he will fight till his last breath, and so begins to form a plan as to how he can escape this heinous person and get him arrested, Eren wasn't going to give up and become a nameless victim of this killer.  

 

Fuck, he doesn't even know this city well, where will he run to?

 

"Kill you? No." Rivaille looks at him with curiousity and fuck he looks so good that Eren is losing focus, he hadn't thought he'd get distracted by the looks of a murderer before he is going to die but these past days have made him pretty delirious. 

 

"No?" Eren is throughly confused now, "aren't you behind me because I hadn't listened to how you murdered your victim that day?" that has to be the reason, what else could it be?

 

Rivaille shakes his head and looks at Eren thoughtfully, he starts to stroke his cheek and his hands are cold yet they feel good against Eren's heated skin, "you know after I murder those fucking pigs I call up people, but not all of them are idiots and some of those receivers put the phone down the second they hear my name," he chuckles then, "that is a very ridiculous reason to fucking murder someone and didn't I tell you that you weren't my target?" 

 

Eren's thoughts are haywire now, what is going on? This was the basis on what he had believed Rivaille was behind him, if that wasn't the case then there must have been another reason, but what can that be?

 

"But..but you called me your jewel and you've been making my life hell..." he whispers feebly, and Rivaille grins, and it makes Eren shiver for some reason.

 

"I call you jewel because you're mine, _my precious jewel,_ this is why I'm pursuing you. Not because I want to put a bullet through your pretty head but because you're my property and I need to claim you."

 

Eren is bewildered, what did he just hear? His property? His precious jewel? it wasn't making any sense now and he suspects Rivaille is seriously deranged, what is he even talking about? 

But before Eren can say anything, he squeaks as Rivaille pulls back but he doesn't let him go, he picks him up in arms like a bride and Eren is stunned for a second but then tries to struggle free but those arms wrap around him strongly. 

 

"You can scream all you want, you know" Rivaille murmurs, "and practice cause I am going to make you scream Eren, and I'll make the whole Sina know who you belong to." 

 

***

 

Rivaille carries Eren like he didn't weigh anything, and he probably didn't because no matter how much he struggled and screamed, it didn't affect Rivaille, at all. It was like Eren was invisible and he didn't exist, but he would keep noticing how Rivaille would glance at him ever so slightly when he'd calm down. 

 

Eren wasn't calming down, no, but he is tiring extremely fast, no matter what he did, his attempts are fruitless and it was making him exhausted to no end, he wasn't giving up however, but it is not like that is doing anything, Rivaille is strong and pure muscles and he doesn't even budge. He is so lost in trying to free himself that Eren doesn't realize that they're back in the hotel district, he can hear the distant car honking and hope soars in his chest, this is it, he'll scream now, someone will notice him!

 

But Rivaille takes a sharp turn to the right as he reaches one of the higher end hotels and he walks parallel to it before stopping in front of a door labeled 'Employees **only** ' and he takes out a card wickedly quick and swipes it in the lock. The door opens with a _beep!_ and Rivaille walks in and closes the door behind him with his foot. Eren looks around the lighted hallway they've stepped in, he wonders how Rivaille got an employees card but the urgency to escape is back, he looks around for escape routes desperately or if someone was there that could help him, he frantically searches but doesn't find anything or anyone. 

 

Rivaille walks down the hall towards an elevator which opens with a _ding!_  and Eren gasps as he notices two employees talking in it, they turn around to get out and see Rivaille with Eren struggling against his arms. 

 

"Out" Rivaille says calmly, and Eren shudders as the power of his voice rumbles through his chest. It is commanding and strong and Eren is almost reduced to whimpers as the truth dawns to him: how can he fight _this_?

 

The employees scramble out quickly and Rivaille steps in with a determined stride,  he lets Eren go, and he clambers away from him quickly as he watches Rivaille insert a gold key right above the number pad in the elevator, the doors close just as Eren dashes towards it and he cries out in frustration as the door closes on his face. 

 

"Are you done?" Rivaille asks softly, and Eren turns to look at him, his face looks calm but his grey eyes are looking like storm is brewing in them, and Eren backs up against the elevator wall as the macabre killer steps towards him with a devilish smile playing on his lips as he cages him in.

 

"Please..please" Eren pleads to but Rivaille is pinning him against the wall again, and Eren finds himself helpless as the man in front of him laughs then murmurs, "please what, Eren?" 

"Let me go!" Eren rasps and he feels Rivaille's hand ghost over his shirt and he suddenly tugs him towards himself and fear tingles Eren's spine when Rivaille says, "I worked so hard to earn you, my jewel, you can forget I'll ever let you walk away from me, you're mine and it is time that you learn that too. " 

With that he grasps Eren's shirt and pulls it towards himself and kisses him, hard. Eren cannot breathe as he feels Rivaille's strong hands on his chest pushing him roughing against the wall as he swipes his tongue to get entrance to Eren's mouth, he clamps his mouth shut but Rivaille doesn't relent, he's ravenous and as his hands roam over him possessively, Eren whimpers, he feels like he needs to breathe but the man doesn't let go, and while Eren is distracted he bites his bottom lip, a surge of pain shoots through Eren and he gasps and Rivaille takes advantage of that, he pushes his tongue in and Eren feels him taking the dominance over his mouth and he feels him tangle his tongue with his own, Eren tries to pull away weakly and even tries to shut his mouth but to no avail, he was against the infamous serial killer, he killed with ease so how the hell can Eren escape his clutches?

 

The _ding!_ of the elevator is what pulls Rivaille away from him and Eren hates how he hasn't even broke a sweat on that inhumanely gorgeous face while he is a panting mess, Eren tries to pull away quickly but Rivaille wraps an arm around him in a wise like grip and pushes Eren out in a hallway, Eren quickly looks around as to where he is and commits the place to his memory, there was only one door leading down the hallway and it gave off an ominous aura and Eren tries to pull away again but Rivaille is too strong. He pulls a whimpering Eren towards the door and he unlocks it in with the same card he had used earlier. Eren wonders if it is a master key as the door suddenly clicks open and he is pushed inside; he falls on the floor from the sudden movement and turns around to see Rivaille lock the door with a resounding click and then he takes out his phone and quickly dials a number before he pins Eren under his fierce grey eyes. 

 

Eren is frozen, he watches as Rivaille say in the phone, "Hello, this is Levi Ackerman speaking from the penthouse, I don't want anyone in my room and also, I want two guards posted in front of my door. No one comes in or leaves till I call. Understand? Thank you." He watches as Rivaille keeps his phone down and he faces Eren with a graceful smile, "Now," he murmurs, "where were we?" he makes his way towards Eren again and Eren sobs, "please no..."

 

"Eren" Rivaille says exasparately and it scares Eren all the more, he doesn't want to piss off the most brutal serial killer in the country, "how about we make a deal, I'll keep my hands off you and you can ask me questions, but once we're done I'm having my way with you, and you really don't have a fucking choice in this, jewel." 

 

Eren gulps, it is not like Rivaille is giving him room for negotiations here, maybe he can get some answers and get evidence to turn in Rivaille? He can ask him and cleverly try to distract him while he plots his escape? This does buy him time he desperately needs. 

 

He watches Rivaille stare at him like he knows exactly what is going on in his mind and Eren shivers as he sits opposite to him with a smile, Eren pulls away from him before he nods, slowly. 

"Ask me, "Rivaille commands. 

"Who- who are you exactly?" Eren blurts out, he tries to relax himself even though he is dangerously close to Rivaille but he is true to his words. He doesn't try to touch him, instead he just smirks, "My real name is Levi Ackerman and I'm a marketing executive." 

 

Eren bites his lip as he processes that, Levi Ackerman, so the killer had a name and face, he has evidence now and he can tell the police this!

 

Levi chuckles, "If you're thinking of turning me in, you're in for a surprise, my precious jewel." 

 

"What?"  how does this guy know what Eren is thinking about?  "Ofcourse I can turn you in, I have your name now!" 

 

"Exactly, love, just my name. You don't have any other evidence." 

 

"I'll get it, " Eren says confidently, "I'll turn you behind the bars where you'll rot like you deserve to!" 

 

Levi laughs at that, it is a beautiful sound but it sounds so cold that Eren feels goosebumps on his skin, he gulps when Levi fixes him with that silvery stare, "You can try, it will be fun, but let me tell you one thing Eren, I have connections and money, my company adores me, they'll do anything to keep me out of harm, the people who owe me favors will keep me safe, and then I'm Rivaille,  my connections run in the underworld too, I'm not only a killer, but a hit man for anyone who can afford me and I kill with no hesitancy, and drug lords and criminals need people like me. I'm important Eren, and you're just a teenager, nobody would ever listen to you over me," Levi drops his voice in a whisper, "and you think this will keep me away from you? I worked hard to get to you, nothing in the world can keep me from getting what's mine, nothing." 

 

A sob escapes Eren as he asks fearfully, "Why are you doing this? Why are you behind me?" 

 

Levi leans back on his hands then, and Eren takes in a sigh of relief at the increased distance, "indeed why is Rivaille doing this? He is doing this because he is extremely possessive of the things he owns. Do you see this," Levi points towards the cravat he is wearing, "I will even kill anyone who tries to touch it, " Eren's eyes go wide as they stare at the innocent piece of clothing nestled in Levi's neck, "and that is why I am pursuing you, Eren, you're mine and mine alone, and so I must make sure that I keep the things I own with me." 

 

Eren's vision blurs as tears fall out of his eyes, "Why? why me?" he weeps.

 

"Because you've stolen my heart, you're my prize for going through a month of planning to own you. You're here in Sina, in my room because of me, and I deserve to have my prize after this. That is why, you're my jewel, my love, my darling, and you're special." Levi gets up after that and Eren scuttles away but Levi follows him, he corners Eren like a prey and once Eren is trapped he leans down and smiles, "I worked hard to get to you, my love, I killed mercilessly, acted as if I loved Maria so that shithole of a job posted me there often, watched you for a year as you lived your life and now it is time that you come back to your rightful place- to me" 

 

Eren tries to pull away but Levi wraps his arm around his waist and pulls him in his lap, his arms are around Eren and he is forced to face Levi. 

"I'm not done asking questions yet!" Eren claims frantically but Levi shakes his head, "I'm done answering them," he says simply and he gets up, pulling Eren up with him. 

 

"I'll answer the rest of them afterwards my jewel, provided you have voice left for that." Levi is tugging Eren away from the living room and further inside the penthouse, Eren is forced to follow him and he is pushed inside a room, it is a huge room with mahogany and cream coloured walls but all Eren notices is where he is, it is the bedroom. 

 

And it suddey strikes him why Levi is telling him he might not have his voice left after he is through with him. 

 

"No," he whispers as he pulls back, but backs into Levi who is standing behind him. 

 

"I've waited for far too long, I need to be inside you Eren, and I won't stop anymore." The man pushes Eren gently and he falls against the soft bed, Eren turns around quickly and watches Levi smirking at him as he takes off his shirt slowly and walks towards the coffee table and picks something up, it has a crinkling sound to it and Eren knows exactly what it is. He scrambles back on the bed but hits the headboard soon; he is trapped and helpless and all he can do is watch Levi as he folds his shirt neatly beside the bed. 

"That needs to come off, " he points towards Eren's shirt. His heart flutters and he shakes his head but Levi smiles, "I'll get my way with you Eren, one way or the other" 

And then he climbs in the bed.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spent solid two hours trying to edit this and make it less dub con  
> I failed.  
> See you all soon!


	8. Levi's prize

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to hell: Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit I've been receiving so much love from you guys I just  
> I'm so flattered, ahh I don't deserve this :(
> 
>  
> 
> But I shouldn't keep you guys waited cause THE CHAPTER IS HERE 
> 
> Also I know I use Levi and Eren's name excessively but for the love of the God I can't stand the use of 'raven' 'raven haired man' for long and also I couldnt have written 'the macabre serial killer' during sex, what a mood killer would that be 
> 
> Haha I'm going to pray to Jesus

Eren watches Levi take off his pants gracefully as he closes in, the condom in his hand crinkles and Levi chuckles as he sees Eren's eyes glued wide on it. 

 

"It wont kill you," he reaches the boy and pulls him towards himself,  Eren whimpers as he feels Levi's tongue at his lips again but Eren opens his mouth more easily knowing that keeping his lips glued together didn't work for long. Eren clutches the satin bedsheets tightly in his fingers as Levi pushes him down on the bed.  He is surprisingly gentle and his body settles on top of his slowly as Levi kisses turn deeper and he starts running his hands through Eren's hair, he tugs on it and Eren groans at how good it feels. The raven haired man pulls back and smiles, appreciating the noises before he is back to kissing Eren, but pulls back softly and turns to kiss his whole face; he peppers him with light kisses before turning his attention on Eren's chin, then to his neck and leaves a deep kiss on his adam's apple, Eren gasps when Levi gently bites his skin and the pain mingles with pleasure and Eren moans. Levi kisses the exposed shoulders and he nips and bites the sun kissed skin he loves so much before he is bunching the shirt up and he sits back. 

 

"There is no point of fighting me, Eren, take this shirt off, now." Eren shudders at the command in the man's voice and takes off his shirt obidiently. He squirms as Levi studies him and runs his hands on his stomach in awe, "beautiful" he whispers as he leans down back to kiss his faint outline of abs, Eren covers his mouth with his fist to keep in the plethora of whimpers and moans dying to escape him but he cannot help but shout when Levi dips his tongue in his navel, and then his hands are around Eren's jeans and he is swiftly  unbuttoning it. Eren whimpers as he tries to say no again but it is starting to feel _so good._ He feels ashamed of thinking this way but he stores that feeling away for later inspection, right now he feels like he will die if Levi isn't kissing him senseless.  

 

He doesn't even know that he is saying it out loud but Levi smirks as he looks into those green jewels, Eren is panting and begging him to kiss him and the fear is mingled with pain and pleasure and Eren feels like he is going to combust, there was something wrong with him but he felt amazing, having a serial killer kiss him knowing that he can kill him anytime but is chosing to give him pleasure instead is a feeling which makes Eren so damn excited. 

 

Levi pulls his underwear down and slowly looks up at Eren with a grin, his face is right beside his hard cock which is glistening with precum and Levi looks back at it like it is candy, he licks it softly and kisses the head before taking it in completely. Eren bucks in his mouth as he feels the warmth around him and the wet heat and the lubrication the precum and the saliva produce is amazing. Levi sucks him like he knows what he is doing and Eren feels like he is going to burst, it feels so fucking good and he cries out as he cums without a warning, Levi takes it all in though, and Eren watches in amazement as Levi sucks him dry. 

 

He looks up from between Eren's thighs and then pulls back with a lewd pop, he sits up then focuses on the small bottle kept beside Eren, he is in daze as he feels the after effects of his orgasm  but still watches as Levi coats his fingers in a clear liquid and Eren realizes that the liquid is lube. He swallows, hard. His mind is screaming to escape yet he cannot move, he doesn't want to move, being in the mercy of someone so dangerous yet watch them do nothing but please him is making his head swim.

 

He bites his lips as Levi is back between his legs again, he takes them in his firm grip and hoists them over his shoulders, almost bending Eren in half but lining himself perfectly to his hole. Levi leans in and languidly kisses Eren again as he circles his index finger around the tight flesh. Eren is a moaning and keening mess by now, since Levi's other hand is around his cock again to make it hard, it doesn't take long but it is painful, he wants his release but Levi is teasing him. He is so distracted by that, that he doesn't notice when Levi's finger pushes through and then he is in his hole. Eren cries out at the unfamiliar sensation and the burn and struggles to get away but Levi isn't relenting, he peppers Eren with kisses and his hand moves away from his cock to his nipples and he pinches it gently, eliciting a whine from Eren but he still isn't over the burn. 

 

Finally Levi sighs and he looks back at Eren, he is panting and sobbing and Eren can _feel_ how much Levi is loving him being helpless under him, "You need to relax, my jewel, otherwise it will be painful for you because I'm not stopping" he murmurs before wrapping Eren's arms around his neck. 

 

Eren breathes in deeply and nods, he can feel Levi watching him closely before he settles between his legs again, the index finger is still in there and the movement is still causing Eren to feel like his back is burning but he takes in a deep breath and relaxes, but the second his hole is lose, Levi inserts another finger. Eren shudders but then something amazing happens, Levi curls his fingers up and Eren shouts as white hot pleasure courses through him, his head falls back and Levi uses that moment to attack his neck, leaving love bites over every inch of that tan skin. The pain and pleasure mixture is too much and Eren feels the familiar heat building up in him, and he knows that he is not going to last soon.

 

Apparently Levi senses this and he pulls back, and Eren makes noises of displeasure which quietens down when a wicked gleam glints in Levi eyes, he enters yet another finger in Eren and Eren whines, trying to buck his hips till Levi finds that spot again, that felt so fucking amazing and Eren needs it again. The man in front of him chuckles and then he curls his fingers again and Eren is screaming. It feels so good, oh god he feels like he is going to die-

 

"Enjoying this, aren't you my jewel? You have no idea how much I wanted to see this, each day I've been imagining this, you panting and moaning for me, and now that I've got this I am not letting this go," Levi says in a low voice just before he is pulls his fingers back out. 

 

"No...no" Eren whimpers, "please. .please" he doesn't even know what he is begging for, but he doesn't want those fingers out of him. 

 

"Please what, Eren? Tell me," Eren can hear the lube bottle being uncapped and he is tensed in excitement of having those fingers inside him again, he tries to open his mouth to answer but only a croak comes out, and Levi laughs at that, "rest your voice my love, you'll need it to scream my name" 

 

Eren has only moments to prepare before Levi is pulling back and pulling him into his arms, he is sitting on Levi's lap now and he can feel the hardness beneath him and he swallows as he feels the lube against his ass, he looks up at Levi who is staring at him with a hungry expression and those silver eyes are clouded with lust. Eren tries to pull back weakly but Levi is firm. 

 

"It is going to hurt, so bear with it" he whispers softly and Eren doesn't even has the time to say anything before Levi is raising him and settling him on his cock. A sob escapes Eren as he feels the familiar burning sensations and involuntarily tightening around him, it must have felt nice because Levi moaned, _he fucking moaned_ and Eren gasps at him in amazement. The man in front of him has his eyes closed but his face is twisted in pure pleasure as Eren sinks down deeper,  he is completely inside his ass and the burning sensation starts to recede but he chokes in a moan when Levi moves underneath him.

 

"Fuck, " he groans, "you feel so good and so tight, I'm sorry, I can't be gentle" 

 

Eren is confused now, but before he can ask what he means Levi is raising him again and then he slams him down on his dick. Eren screams at the sudden movement but it turns into a loud moan when he feels the pleasure again, Levi notices this and doesn't let Eren recover, he raises Eren up again and down on his cock, slamming into him over and over again, Eren is whimpering and moaning as he feels Levi inside him. He knows he isn't going to last longer and his face makes it evidently clear because Levi growls, "cum for me Eren, and scream my name, I want everyone to know who you belong to" 

 

Eren is panting and whining as he feels he is near, but after a particularly hard slam against his prostate, he is screaming, " _ah_ Levi! I'm _ah_ cumming, I'm cumming!" Eren feels himself release and he feels it coating his stomach but Levi isn't still stopping,  he fucks Eren till he feels himself cumming and loses his composure as he slams into Eren, hard. Eren feels him release inside him and collapses against Levi when he slows down, after some weaker thrusts he stops and slowly pulls out. Eren doesn't like the empty sensation yet he is too tired to argue, he tries to raise his head to Levi but he feels heavy, his body refuses to move as he breathes in deeply. He feels Levi move from underneath him and the cum is running down his legs now but he doesn't care, Levi gently picks him up and makes him lie against the bed, he snuggles in the soft satin sheets but Levi _tch-es_ and within a few minutes he feels wet cloth against his sensitive skin, it feels amazing against his sweating skin but he is too tired to thank Levi as he feels the darkness take over him.

 

***

Levi is cleaning up the sheets when he looks up at the sleeping boy, Eren looks so perfect against his bed cuddled up and Levi feels so fucking happy, he had waited for this, for a year but this is worth it, he doesn't have to hide anymore and he can take Eren over and over again now that he has gotten a taste of how fucking wonderful that feels, he remembers fondly how Eren felt around him, his screams and moans as he feels the pleasure and Levi feels himself growing hard again, _Tch_ , he doesn't have time for that right now, he will have plenty for that later. 

 

He takes his phone out and clicks the picture of Eren sleeping. He opens up his messages and searches for the contact he is looking for and clicks on the person's name, he doesn't like sharing Eren's pictures this way and his sated afterglow picture should be his to view alone but he owes this person, this person is the reason the bed Eren stayed overnight in the hospital was stragitically placed near a window,  and one way or the other the reason why he was here in Levi's bed.

 

He sends the picture and quickly types in the message. 

 

 **[Me]** You wanted to see how he is doing, are you fucking happy now?

 

He waits for a few minutes before the reply comes.

 

_Yes, fine, I'm happy now Levi, but I'll need more pictures of him when I'm not busy._

Levi throws his phone away, not waiting till his friend is free. He climbs in beside Eren and takes him in his arms as he falls asleep.

 

***

**[Picture]**

_You wanted to see how he is doing, are you fucking happy now?_

 

Eren looks so peaceful but tired as he sleeps in Levi's bed, he really looks like he does belong to the place-

 

"Hanji?" Their thoughts are interrupted when Petra wraps her arms around their waist. 

 

"Yes?" Hanji smiles and they turn to her, Petra has been crying since Carla called up to report Eren is missing, it has been three hours since then but there is no trace of him yet.

 

"You think we should go and search for him ourselves?"  She sniffs as she asks softly, Hanji turns around and kisses her on the head before shaking their head.

 

"I think we should wait for sometime, I have a feeling Eren will be back soon" Hanji says as they lock their phone before Petra can see the picture of Eren's sleeping face on it.

 

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to get this chapter in as soon as possible so I'll check for the mistakes later on, and once again, I'm jagerbooty on tumblr, please don't tell me how shitty I am at writing smut, I know that :(


	9. verliebt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three words: fluff and smut

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone please stop me from writing an omegaverse version of this fic. Just imagine how more possessive Levi will become in that one because of his omega (who can get pregnant) 
> 
> Oh my god

Eren wakes up to a soft yellow glow coming from the bedside table. He feels disoriented and really, really confused. Where was he? this wasn't his hotel room, and why does his back hurt so much? 

 

He looks around in confusion before trying to move, that is when he realizes that someone is holding him, effectively caging him in. Eren tries to look over his shoulder but the man holding him has his head buried in his tanned shoulders. _What?_

Eren tries to pull out gently but the sleeping man refuses to let go; he gives up in frustration and lies there as he stares at the yellow lamp beside the bed, he cranes his head to study the huge room he is in, but cannot move too much because of the person holding him. He can hear cars honking so he knows he is in the hotel district of Sina but why doesn't he remember how he ended up in a different hotel than his?

 

"When will you stop moving?" A sleepy voice mutters in irritation behind Eren and he freezes up, hearing that deep powerful voice suddenly reminds of where he is and _oh god, last night.._ he slept with Rivaille! the sinister killer who had strangled, slit the throats of poor helpless victims, responsible for the bloodbath in Maria and also the man behind Eren's downfall.. it was him, shit he is the one holding Eren.

 

Eren tries to struggle free when he remembers and Levi sighs, he flips Eren around till he is facing the silver eyes which were looking at him in annoyance, the bags under his eyes were accentuated because of the lamp's light yet he looks so incredibly gorgeous that Eren becomes dumbstruck yet again by how good looking he is. 

 

"Let me go, you killer!" Eren bites out and his struggles turn into trashes, but Levi lets him go surprisingly easily. He smirks as he watches Eren get up but Eren doesn't care, he has to go back to his hotel, to his mom and tell the police about the killer!

 

But the second Eren tries to put the weight on his feet, the pain in his backside shoots through him and Eren gasps as he falls down on the cold marble floor, he looks around in daze and then up at the bed where Levi is peering at him with his silver eyes dancing with amusement. Eren tries to get up but he cannot move, he is stuck and _it fucking hurts._

 

"I see I did a good job" Levi murmurs as he gracefully gets off the bed, and for the first time since last night Eren looks at him properly. He had been so lost last night in sex that he hasn't even glanced at Levi's body. He is naked as he walks towards Eren, and he stares at the smooth muscles in the arms and the defined abs in the stomach, he had been right, Levi was all muscles and smooth milky skin but as he nears Eren he notices tiny scars scattered around his body, and it makes him look much more sexier than he already does, _how is that even possible?_

He tries to pull back but Levi bents down and picks him up in his arm gently so that Eren doesn't feel the pain, and puts him down on the bed again, Eren tries to struggle but Levi climbs in beside him and pulls the boy to him. 

 

"Really? after what we did I thought we were past that," Levi sighs as he pulls the covers up back again and kisses Eren's shoulder softly.

 

"Well I'm sorry but you fucking forced me to have sex with you, doesn't really put you in my good books!" he huffs but he stops moving.

 

Levi laughs, and it vibrates through Eren, damn he was really close to him, "going by your moans, it was anything but forced, my jewel, you liked it, you liked it when I was inside you" he murmurs softly. 

 

Eren cannot deny it, Levi felt so good inside him and his hole clenches involuntarily at the thought and pain shoots through him, he squirms as he remembers him inside, when suddenly, Levi is on top of him; he pins Eren with his silvery stare and the yellow light gives him in a much more sinister look, Eren stops and Levi leans into him.

 

"I promised I'll answer your other questions once I'm done with you, but I think you better start to ask me right now because I don't think I will be able to keep my hands off you for long" Eren whimpers as Levi starts to knead his waist, it is a tell tale sign of what he wants but he is so tired and sore for that. 

 

"Tell me more about you!" he whispers abruptly to buy more time, and Levi looks up at him with one eyebrow raised, "Hm? about me? I am a man of fine taste," he smirks as he traces Eren's navel softly. 

 

"Jackass, " Eren mutters and Levi chuckles, before his hands dip further down and continues down south, "let me ask you a question instead. Have you ever been kissed before yesterday?" 

 

He says it in a nonchalant voice but Eren is suspicious of the trick question, he knows if he says yes then Levi is not going to take it well.

 

"Fifth grade, it was truth and dare, " he gasps as Levi slowly grips his thighs, "I am not going tell you who it was or you'll kill him." 

 

Levi hums and he doesn't deny it, yet he looks at him playfully and suddenly wraps his palm around Eren's dick, Eren moans at the contact of his warm hand around him and Levi moves his hand in a teasing manner till Eren gets hard.

 

"Ah no..." Eren whimpers, "I'm still sore from last night.." 

 

"You mean this evening?" Levi smiles dangerously, "I wish I cared, my jewel, but you're so tight and so good for me that I cannot stop " 

 

He pulls the cover off and leans down to kiss Eren and he moans when Levi bites his bottom lip, hard enough to draw blood. He opens his mouth and Levi pushes him further into the bed as his tongue dominates Eren's mouth. He tries to pull away but Levi continues kissing him hard, his right hand increases in movement on his dick and Eren tries to move his hips to intensify the feeling but Levi retrains him with his own hips. His thumb presses Eren's slit and he moans in Levi's mouth, who eats it up hungrily. 

 

"Fuck," he growls and Eren wraps his arms around his back, this time fully appreciating those back muscles, they moved fluidly under his hands as Levi kisses him. He kisses Eren all over, sucking and biting those love bites from this evening to make them more pronounced. He lets his other hand roam on Eren's stomach before pulling back to look for lube and condoms beside the bedside table.

 

Eren stares at Levi above him, he looks concentrated only on him and him alone; he marveles in amazement at the milky skin before Levi looks up at him and his silver eyes gaze at him intensely, he can see tiny flecks of blue in those eyes; the soft blush on his cheeks and those lips which are bruised from hard kissing and still manage to look deliciously red, Eren can't still believe how beautiful he is, he is ethereal looking and just plain perfection in every sense. He feels like he can stare at Levi all night long but his eyes screw shut when he feels Levi's finger ghosting his hole.

 

"Open your eyes, I want to see those green eyes as I enter you," Levi murmurs and Eren opens them up at the command, Eren feels the almost palpable tension between them waiting to burst and he doesn't know how long he can take it, how long he can take in those eyes that feel like they're staring at his soul, stripping him emotionally and making him bare in all senses. 

 

"You're beautiful, how can your soul be so tainted?" Eren asks softly and Levi smiles, and he wonders if Levi feels regret for killing so many people or torturing them, but he just smiles, there is no regret or sadness on his face; Levi truly didn't care. It chills Eren to the core but he cannot stop looking at him, not wanting to move and still shamefully wanting Levi to take him. He was like the addicting drug which was destroying him yet it felt so good to stop. Hadn't Levi said he was manipulative before? Was he manipulating Eren to feel this good? He breathes in slowly as Levi's index finger enters him but he cannot do anything, he is chained to this man and he doesn't mind it, at all.

 

"My soul is rotten then so be it, if it is what it takes to make you mine then I will taint my soul over and over again," he whispers as enters another finger in him. 

 

Eren cries out at the pain from the burn and the fact he is sore from the last time they went at it, but Levi is gentler this time, and Eren knows the pleasure that comes after that so he stays put, instead he turns to Levi and leans forward and kisses him, vying for the dominance Levi has claimed over his mouth. Levi is shocked that Eren is retaliating and he doesn't react quickly enough before Eren's tongue is in his mouth, Levi tastes like coffee and mint and it is so goddamn good that Eren tangles his right hand in his hair and pulls him against his mouth till their teeth are clashing. He doesn't pull back even though the kiss is messy, instead he rakes his left hand over that smooth behind. He knows Levi can pull back if he wishes too, but he doesn't. He lets Eren get his way and think that he has the power over him before he pulls back to enter another finger in him. He watches Eren, panting and needing, cry out when Levi curls his fingers in him, and Eren clenches his hole and Levi bites his own lip at how good that heat feels. He tries to hide it behind that cold facade but Eren sees it and is amazed at the fact that he made Levi look like that, and now he is determined not to let those emotions go off his face. If he is forced to bare his emotions and body for Levi's pleasure so should he. 

 

Levi looks desperate now, but Eren doesn't let his fingers go; two can play this game.

 

"Eren," Levi says in a low voice, "I know what you're doing, if you don't let me go right now, I'll tie you up and fuck you till you faint." 

 

A delicious shiver goes through Eren at the threat but he relaxes himself to let the man free, but the second he does Levi flips him over so that his back is facing him. 

 

"Scream for me, " Levi whispers and Eren feels the man enter him, and he moans softly in the pillow. It is painful as he feels Levi's cock push past his hole but Eren must seriously be masochistic because it still feels so fucking good. 

 

"No..I'm not giving in to you easily" Eren whimpers and he can feel Levi's smile in his neck, and he wonders what the man is thinking about when Levi pulls back, out of Eren but before he has a chance to complain, Levi thrusts inside him really hard. Eren screams as Levi finds the spot in the first try and he angles his thrusts to hit Eren's prostate without slowling down, and that feels _so fucking good,_  Eren is reduced to begging because he wants more. 

 

"I enjoy challenges, my jewel, but I win everytime," Levi's voice is still low but shaky from the lust, he pulls back and rams in Eren hard again and starts to suck and bite on his tanned shoulder. Eren tries to come back with a snark reply but his thoughts cannot concentrate on anything other than Levi pulling back and thrusting in him again, he can feel him twitch inside him, and he feels so full and perfect, but still begs for Levi to go harder, Levi growls as he complies and increases his thrusts in him; again and again Levi pulls back and slams into him and Eren whimpers as Levi wraps a hand around his hard dick, the other hand is in his chocolate locks and they're pulling those strands to pull his face back as Levi leans in to bite his ear. The friction Levi's hand provided him and him pounding into him is too much and Eren cums with a loud moan, Levi follows him soon after and he collapse on top of his sweaty back with a groan; the distant car honking and their heavy breaths were the only noise in the large room after that.

 

*

 

Eren cannot still get out of the bed because now his back hurts all the more and he sighs, Levi has pulled back the window curtains and he can see the city in the distance; the penthouse really has a beautiful view. 

 

He looks up as someone walks in the room and sees Levi carrying a tray with steaming food, he is wearing an expensive looking robe and Eren doesn't like it, his body was sculpted like art and it was a shame that it was covered. Levi walks over to Eren, who snuggles in deeper in the bed as Levi sits down on the edge of the bed, and puts the tray beside him. He peers in what Levi has brought over and notices that it smells amazing, and his stomach growls in response. 

 

"What's that?" Eren asks curiously and leans in to see the dish in the tray, it is a casserole with mushroom, chicken and some other stuff he cannot think about without his mouth watering.

 

" _Coq au vin_ ," Levi says with a French accent and Eren is slightly surprised at that, it wasn't easy to discern where Levi is from though Eren suspects that he looks slightly Asian, but to know he was French shocked him to say atleast, apparently he knew what Eren was thinking because he answers what is on his mind, "Mother was French and father Japanese."

 

 _Wow_ , Eren thinks, but he cannot help but notice that Levi is talking about his parents in the past tense, but he doesn't ask about it.

 

He slowly eats the casserole and almost moans at how delicious it is, damn Levi and him being perfect at everything he does. He is ravenous for some reason but he suspects it is because of the sex.

 

Levi chuckles as he sees his expression, "that good?" he softly asks. 

 

Eren nods but focuses his attention on the food, he chews it slowly to savour the taste and wonders how the fuck he went from hating Levi to being almost comfortable with his presence in a span of one evening, but he still doesn't trust him, no matter how much he liked the sex Eren cannot forget the amount of mental torture he was put through and the fact that Levi is a sadistic serial killer on lose, but even Eren can't deny that he doesn't feel the same way he did before, maybe the fact that the killer has a face now that he feels more...human towards him? Maybe it is something else?

 

He smacks his lips after he finishes his food in satisfaction and sucks on his lip to get the aftertaste, Levi watches his each movement carefully and it reminds Eren of a cat watching a mouse. Finally he gets up and takes the tray away and Eren blushes as he catches himself drooling at the powerful thighs those robe fail to cover. He is back in a few minutes and he climbs in the bed again, Eren tries to shift but Levi slides behind him gracefully and pulls him towards his chest and cages him in his arms again, he kisses Eren's neck and bites his ear softly but Eren tries to hide his face. Levi and him had sex for three fucking times and Eren was seriously tired now and his ass hurt, he was glad that Levi had left to get food but no way was that enough rest for him before he is ready to get fucked again. 

 

"Please stop," he begged, "I'm really tired." 

 

Levi sighs and he pulls back, and as he speaks Eren feels the warm breath ghost over his exposed neck, "I'll stop if you sleep over at my place." 

 

Eren stiffens, "My mom will worry"

 

"Do I look like I care? It is taking every ounce of self control not to flip you over and fuck you senseless right now, so don't test me" 

Eren shivers at the clear lust in Levi's voice and he knows he cannot best Levi, so he sighs as he nods, and he feels Levi kiss his neck before he is leaning over him and switching off the light, the outside lights still provide a dim glow and cars honking is still loud yet Eren falls asleep almost immediately when Levi snuggles into him.

 

***

 

The next morning Eren wakes up in Levi's arms but now he knows exactly where he is, in fact Levi is awake this time and peppering him with kisses all over, Eren groans at the light filtering in the room but it is not extremely bright, Levi must have gotten up and closed the curtains sometime at night and Eren was grateful at his thoughtfulness. 

 

"What's the time?" Eren yawns as he turns to Levi, who kisses his nose before saying. 

 

"It is twelve in the noon."

"Twelve? What the fuck, I slept for that long?" Eren exclaims and he gets up, and tries to get out of Levi's embrace and out of the bed, but the second he gets up pain shoots through him again falls back in his arms again.

 

"Ow" he mutters and Levi laughs.

 

"I wasn't going to let you leave either way, sweetheart, you're going to have to stay with me till I get sated of my thirst for you." He whispers against Eren's back and he shivers.

 

"That will be a lifetime," Eren complains but he feels the arms tighten around him. Levi pulls him down and Eren tries to escape but Levi is on top of him before he can move.

 

"Damn right it will be," and he leans down to kiss him as he reaches for the condoms. 

 

*

 

It is more of a breakfast than lunch when Eren eats up one of the other fine dishes Levi makes, he can feel the man staring at his back as he tastes the  _Soupe à l'oignon,_ it is fucking delicious and he knows Levi knew how much it is affecting him, that asshat. 

 

"How's it?" Levi rests his face in the crook of Eren's neck, and wraps his arms around him tightly, jostling Eren who is sitting on his lap. Levi wouldn't let him sit anywhere else in the penthouse except for the bedroom or his lap, it was frustrating how easily he got his way but here they were, Levi constantly touching him and biting his skin all over in a possessive way while reminding him ever so slightly that Eren belongs to him, Eren spats that Levi has control issues and the nerve of him, he actually laughs at that,

"Well I wouldn't be killing if I wasn't this possessive now, would I." 

 

And that is when Eren is cruelly reminded again that he is sitting on the lap of the infamous macabre killer while he eats the delicious food he has made. How had his life come to this?

He leans back in the man and sighs, he can feel Levi's heartbeat against him and those arms around him feels really nice, _he feels nice._ Levi manages to remain cool even in the heat of summer and Eren is grateful, he is better than any air conditioner out there, and Eren likes it as he snuggles in him further, and for the first time it strikes him that he doesn't have to be on the run anymore and can simply relax, he still doesn't know how much normal his life is going to be because he knows Levi is going to stick around for long, but he is going to worry about that later, right now he can finally breathe without worrying constantly.

 

They sit like that, Levi's arms around him and him on his lap for what feels like hours and Eren knows that it has to end soon; he has to go back, and he feels excited knowing that he will be going back to Maria now that the purpose of coming to Sina is defeated, so he turns around and presses a kiss to Levi's closed eyes and says:

"I have to leave, and I have to go back to Maria, Levi. My parents are there, my friends are there, and it is not like you're going to let me go that easily, right? Let me go to Maria and come back to me." 

 

Levi sighs and he finally opens those silver eyes and stare right back into Eren, he looks seriously displeased yet Eren knows he won, letting Eren go back won't affect him too much because he knows that he will follow his jewel, to hell if needed, but what he doesn't know is that Eren isn't till giving up his control on his life, and now that he knows Levi better than he had earlier, he'll make it harder for him to get his hands on him but right now he just smiles softly at the man, as he finally sighs and nods. 

 

"Let me fuck you one more time and then I'll drop you off myself" and he doesn't let Eren answer before he pushes him gently on his back on the marble floor.

 

***

 

The hotel he is staying in is abuzz with news reporters and Eren knows he is fucked, he should have known him missing would make his mom take drastic action like call the media. Ofcourse she did, Carla is ruled by her emotions and does what she feels is right at the time, but why did she think this was remotely okay?

 

He covers his face and sneaks in the building and asks an employee to guide him through, for some reason they don't fucking recognize him and think of him as a distressed tourist who just wants some peace, they gladly help him navigate through the annoying crowd and Eren thanks the person once he reaches his floor and gets out, before heading for his parents' room.

 

The first thing he notices when he enters is that his mom is surrounded by people that he doesn't know,  he recognizes the blue uniform of the police and also the person comforting his crying mom as his dad and suddenly Eren feels awful, he had spent his night in the arms of a man and here his mom was worrying over him to death. 

 

"Mom?" He calls out hesitantly. 

 

His mom turns around lightening quick and Eren is in her arms in seconds, she is screaming and crying in his shoulders, and so is his dad. The police officers look away from the family to give them privacy. 

 

They ask him questions and Eren tries to answer them as honestly as he can, which wasn't much. The story was that Eren had overheard his mom and got upset and decided to take a walk to clear his mind, then it started to rain and he got lost as he searched for the cover, he waited till his clothes were remotely dry and then tried to head back home once the rain stopped but it was too dark by then and he notices a gang prowling in the area, and he realized that he was in a dangerous territory. So for safety measures he decided to hide for the night. No, those marks on his neck and arms aren't due to any fight he got in, Eren thinks he has allergies because who knew what that nasty place where he spent his night had? And that brings the fact why he is wincing in pain as he walks, it is because of the ground he slept on was really hard, but then why does Eren looks so fresh and relaxed? It is just because he is back and that's it. Everyone listens to him and no one bothers to point out the inconsistencies, they're just relieved that Eren is back. That's it.

 

The police doesn't hound him after that, and they don't suspect anything, he can hear whispers and murmurs about they're happy that Rivaille didn't get to him while he was out. Eren is mildly irritated, he is itching to tell the police who the killer is, but he doesn't doubt Levi's word that he isn't easy to catch. No, Eren will have to wait and collect evidence and turn him in.

 

He'll wait, he'll wait till the infallible Rivaille makes the mistake of falling for him and then he'll turn him in and get the justice his victims and him, deserve. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tbh I don't know why Eren thinks that Levi doesn't know what he is planning. He is an evil genius after all.


	10. Normalcy isn't fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren is back in Maria.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhhh it's been 10 days since Your Love Is A Menace has been up on A03!! If it were upto me I would have written a floofy chapter in celebration, cause you all deserve it, but hey, the plot is being a cockblock, so have some pining!Eren instead!! :D
> 
> Thankyou again for all the love you've shown me in these past few days, this is exactly why I adore the Ereri Fandom. We're the best! :)

Carla insists on staying in Sina,  but Eren convinces her to come back to Maria, he thinks she is feeling guilty because her conversation with Hannes was the reason Eren had left the hotel in the first place, so she nods and agrees reluctantly because of that, but Eren thinks that she is secretly pleased. 

 

The move back was greeted with enthusiasm from everyone in Sina, and Eren finally steps back in the Maria's scorching summer; he feels like he can kiss the ground he so missed when he first gets out of the car. 

 

His house is still looking warm and inviting but devoid of police, the second Jaeger family left the police did too, since they had no one to protect. They did sweep the place occasionally and found some petty criminals sneaking around but that's it. The news reporters were given the wrong information that Eren was still in Sina so the teen could finally relax and enjoy his summer like he seriously deserves to. 

 

His parents are shocked at how ease he is in, they worry that he is going to attract Rivaille's attention if he continues to take freedom for granted but Eren shrugs. He knows Levi isn't going to stalk him but expects him to visit him soon. 

 

But as a week pass by Eren grows agitated. There is no sign of Levi, and he keeps anticipating to see him at the most unexpected moments, like when another bully targeted Armin; it was in the evening and perfect for Levi to attack the men yet Eren walked back to his home with bruises on his cheeks and arms over the faded love bites. He wonders what the man is up to, is he missing Eren? Is he killing and torturing some poor soul who touched his things by mistake? 

 

But as Eren ponders over it he remembers the small cool touches of Levi which caressed his skin so gently, those piercing silver eyes taking command of him and that husky voice of his which whisper over Eren's skin and urge him to scream when he fucked him senseless. Eren knew Levi had insane sex drive and even fucking Eren five-six times because he cannot get enough of him, and even if Eren is panting and begging him to stop because he is too tired by the end of it, he likes it. He likes the attention Levi gives to him and the need in those silver eyes because he wants Eren so bad.

 

He catches himself thinking about the man often, and wonders when his life became about him.

 

***

 

"So Eren, " Hanji hangs by his cubicle, "did you go sightseeing in Sina?" 

 

After a week Eren is back at his job at the MP building and he is warmly greeted by his colleagues, Petra hugs him and cries, Auruo bites his tongue as usual, Eld and Gunther sneak in alcohol to celebrate his being back, and Hanji smiles, Eren is particularly glad on seeing them because they are the only one who has seriously helped him through last month. They don't ask the obvious questions which everyone is dying to, instead tries to make him as comfortable as he can be at the workplace. 

 

"Hm," Eren shakes his head, "I only saw the hotel district of Sina, it is pretty famous so I guess I did see the city somewhat?" 

 

"Ooh," Petra joins in and so does the other three men in their tiny group, they're crowding him but Eren smiles at their enthusiasm, "did you see the Sina museum? It is in the hotel district, I've heard it contains so many ancient artifacts!" 

 

 

Auruo oohs and tries to agree but Eld cuts in excitedly, " I've always wanted to go there, and see Hotel liberté, it is the grandest hotel in this country; shame I won't be able to afford to even spend a night in there." 

 

Gunther makes a joke about he should spend his money on something else and everyone laughs at Eld's red blushing face, Eren smiles and shakes his head at him. It felt so good to be back. 

 

***

 

Eren is out and about in Maria with his friends and nothing is happening, no criminals trying to follow him or no one is attacking in general, everyone around him keep their guards up but nothing is amiss. It is normal, suspiciously so.

 

Eren relives to his friends how Rivaille had chased him, and they listen in rapt attention. Armin is there to back him up but soon the novelty of his tales wear off. Thousands got victimized by Rivaille and they're going on with their lives without being shone attention except for occasional gossip, then why should Eren be given any preferences? 

 

He realizes he doesn't miss it, the attention or the gossips about him. What he misses is the thrill of knowing that someone is out there to get him, and while it is still true, Levi isn't making any moves and he is starting to miss those roses, those letters and Levi calling him his jewel, the adrenaline of knowing each day could be his last and feeling like a winner when he survives yet another day in Maria.

 

Eren didn't lie when he said he liked his normal life, but being normal means that he doesn't get the attention he wants and Eren craves that, he craves the warmth of his mother who used to hug him whenever she used to come back from her work, and his father trying to spend more time with him even though he is busy at the hospital, or the attention of his friends who cheer for him whenever he tells about his narrow escapades, it never occured to him that he is special till Rivaille came in the picture and suddenly everyone was telling Eren how important and loved he is, heck, his mom moved cities to protect him, and now it was all back to normal, he doesn't feel important anymore.

And Levi isn't here; the man who changed his life and made him feel good isn't here.

 

 _Where are you_ , Eren wonders as he looks over the window in the MP building as he starts his shift, he is lost and moody and people are noticing that, they're also noticing the fact that Eren hasn't been truthful about what has happened in Sina. People speculate behind his back but it is Hanji who shuts them all up by saying that it was Eren's business and his alone.

 

After one and a half weeks Eren has enough, if Levi isn't going to visit him then he'll get used to it, after all if he is going to turn Rivaille in he needs evidence against the man and get used to never seeing him free. And one evening he sits on his bed and surfs on his phone, he opens Google and searches about the man.

 

Whoa, there are 20+ pages on google about him. Levi even has his own Wikipedia page, was he famous? Eren looks through his profile and somehow he isn't shocked; Levi is one of the most successful marketing executives in the country and is a self made millionaire, _millionaire_ , he has been featured in TIME's 30 under 30 for four consecutive years, and his main residence is in Trost district. Trost was the home to all the rich one percent of the country, and Eren could only dream of setting his foot there. He scrolls through Wikipedia for more information and he is facinated as he reads more about him ... a _lthough Levi Ackerman lives in Trost he frequently visits Sina because he owns the seven star hotel liberté in the famous hotel district.._ Eren recognizes the picture in the Wikipedia page, that's the very fucking hotel Levi had taken him to. He owned the grandest and the most expensive hotel in Sina, what the fuck? How did he manage to do this all before the age of 30? He is famous, alright, he is also a prodigy. A freakishly genius prodigy. Eren wonders how does a person who has this much fortune, looks, and brains need to resort to killing, he can have anything in the world, then why does Rivaille exist? He looks through other articles when he sees a picture of him: his neatly combed hair falling on those piercing silver eyes, they match the slate gray suit he is wearing with silver cufflinks. His heart flutters when he sees the man, the killer, the torturer, the person who makes him feel so special. Eren is missing him so much and it has been almost two weeks since he has seen him.

 

"Where are you, Levi? I can't believe it that you're making me wait, you fucker," he whispers to no one in the room, "come back" he says softly after awhile with a sigh. 

 

He shouldn't be saying these things out loud in the room because what if his mom is eavesdropping? She is overprotective after all, she might snoop around to see if he is okay or not and get suspicious of who this Levi is. But whatever, he doesn't care, if Levi doesn't care about him then why should he? 

It was not like he should, he had only slept with him after all! And that is when the horrible thought makes its way in his mind: What if Levi had enough? What if his claims that he wouldn't ever get tired of Eren was a lie? What if he has moved on and those piercing silver eyes wouldn't ever look at him like he was the most precious thing ever again? 

 

Eren's heart sinks, and he almost has tears in his eyes. This was stupid,  he should be happy if that was the case! He should forget what happened in Sina and try to continue living his life after this, like a normal teen. He should complete his job, graduate out of school, then university and then go on. Maybe when he is 30 he'll retell the story to his friends about how he was stalked by the most notorious serial killer alive, _again,_ and have a few good laughs this time, but to think he'd never see him again, didn't sit well with him. He wanted Levi, he wanted him so bad.

 

Eren searches for more information while trying to avoid the pictures of him, but now collects whatever data he can use as evidence. He compares the visits Levi made to places when the murders took place, and he is shocked at how obvious it is when both of them are compared, did no one wonder how it was possible that all the kills occurred where Levi was at that very moment? Eren wonders if this is enough information to get him arrested, but Levi's voice echoes in his mind. He is more influential than Eren thought him to be and there was no motive outright that points to the fact that Levi is Rivaille, why would a prodigy like him need to kill some lowly people? _Shit_ , Eren needs to find the link between them, the reason why Levi kills ruthlessly, he knows it is because he is possessive but how can he prove it to the police? 

 

He idly clicks on another article that talks about Levi's childhood and suddenly smiles when he sees the younger Levi. He still hasn't changed a bit; he looks annoyed, disgusted and so goddamn hot, and those eyes were still the same but were defintely warmer. Facinated, he digs deeper for more pictures and finds him standing with three people in front of a university. He doesn't know the two of his friends are: one is a girl and other a boy, but he knows the third one very well. 

 

Eren doesn't think he could have been shocked further but he was, there was a picture of Levi and Hanji Zöe when they were in college. He blinks to see if he is dreaming cause no fucking way was that possible, Hanji was the police,  they were guardian like for Eren, and they hid the fact that they knew Levi?

 

 _No_ , Eren reasons, Levi must not have told them who he is, they probably just studied with him and nothing else. 

 

But the more he reads the article the more he doubted that, there was a recent picture with Levi looking disgusted as usual and Hanji standing beside him, winking at the camera, there was also an interview with them too, it was them talking about how Levi was their bestfriend and how they grew up together. 

 

 _Childhood friends_ , how much was it possible that Hanji didn't know about Levi and Rivaille? Well, time to find out. He takes out his phone and dials their number. They pick up after three rings.

 

"Kiddo-" They begin to warmly greet him.

"Hanji," Eren cuts in, "How much do you know about Levi Ackerman?" 

 

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh Hanji.
> 
> And a chapter without Levi, how did you all fare? I miss my serial killer baby already :(
> 
> NEXT CHAPTER is SUPER short. I'm just warning you all, and I'll be updating that in a short while; it is basically Eren and Hanji talking so this chapter and that chapter is basically one and a half!


	11. Cat and Mouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren talks to Hanji

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know: three days ago I thought this fic would end at 10 chapters. I'm glad it didn't.

"We are bestfriends," Hanji quietly replies. 

 

Eren is breathing hard, _okay he knew this fact,_ "Oh, can you tell me more about him cause I want to know.." 

 

"Why such sudden interest?" 

 

"He seems..like, er.. like an interesting person? I mean.. I.. uh," Eren stutters and hears Hanji sigh on the other end of the line.

 

"Eren," they cut his pitiful explanation, "Yes I know he is Rivaille." 

 

And all the breath knocks out of Eren, he opens his mouth and closes it again because he doesn't know what to say, what do you say to the person you trusted so much, and loved as your own parent and then have them betray you like that?

 

"Listen to me kiddo, I know about it but it is not like I could have done anything about it." 

 

"Couldn't have done anything?" Eren echoes softly so his mom doesn't hear him, "Hanji you could have told me about him instead of keeping me in the fucking dark!  You knew who killed those patrolling men, those helpless victims, you knew it all this time!" 

 

"And what would you have done if I would have told you? " Hanji inquires, "you know what? meet me in ice cream parlor near your house, and I'll explain everything," with that they kept the phone down. 

 

Eren throws his phone away in frustration, he didn't want to meet Hanji but at the end the day the need to know Levi won out, if he can get any insight on the man then he'll swallow his pride and go, and he'll turn in everyone to the police by the end of this, and he knows it will break Petra's heart but she shouldn't be played by Hanji like this. She can date Auruo instead for all he cares. 

 

Ten minutes later he is jogging in the summer heat to the ice cream parlor and remembers that the last time he was here with Armin was on the fateful night on which he had seen Rivaille for the first time. He walks over to the counter to order a black cherry cone, and as he gets ready to pay the door opens, bringing in the warm heat and Hanji inside. 

 

"Eren,"  they greet him as Eren comes back, and he gestures them to sit down. They do and Eren sits opposite them. Hanji looks exactly the same, but their eyes are serious and it changes their whole demeanor. He doesn't like this serious Hanji but not that he has a choice in what he wants. 

 

"Explain why you know who Levi is but you still haven't told the police," Eren asks as he licks his ice cream. 

 

Hanji sighs, "You must have done some digging through the Internet to know that I am friends with Levi so you must know how influential he is. I am a residential police officer at the MP building and he is a millionaire marketing executive, do you really think me accusing him would lead to somewhere?" 

 

Eren doesn't like their explanation cause it reminds him of the similar conversation that happened between him and Levi, about how Eren was just a teenager and nothing else. There must be some way to incarcerate him, there has to be.

 

"I'd like to say that it is the only reason I didn't turn him in but the truth is, he is my best friend Eren, Levi has supported me through my highs and lows and I just can't turn my back to him and turn him in like that!" Hanji shakes their head sadly. 

 

Eren knits his eyebrows in confusion, "even if he is fucked up enough to kill? Hanji how can you support him on this!" 

 

They shake their head again, "I didn't say I support him, his life hadn't been all perfect Eren, there is a reason for why he.. kills, and it is not my place to tell. You have to ask him yourself." 

 

"It is not like I can, he isn't even here! That fucker left me alone!" Eren says in a strident tone, and he knows his voice is sounding like a petulant child, but Hanji smiles and their brown eyes are back at being warm. 

 

"Oh Eren, he isn't far away, he's obsessed with you, " they laugh, "I haven't seen him being this animated since...sometime, and it is really nice." 

 

Eren wonders what they're hiding because of the abrupt sentence change, "Well," he huffs, "then where is he? And why didn't you tell me about him before?" 

 

"All you gotta do is call him, kiddo, tell him you miss him and he'll come running, " they chuckle, "And I know you feel like you cannot trust me cause this happened but hear me out: Levi told me about being enamored with you but that was after you started working as a volunteer at the MP building, and I'm not going to lie, I was excited for him, but my concern for you doesn't diminish because of that, kiddo. Levi is brash; if he thinks he owns something, he will go after it, and obtain it in anyway possible, but that is okay if the object is an antique knife or an expensive cravat. It is the first time he has shown his interest in a person and I was worried for you. I thought that if you'd known that I knew about him, you would loose your trust in me, and during that time you really needed people to rely on, and that is the sole reason I hid the fact, and all throughout I made sure that if, by chance, Rivaille loses his interest in you, you'd be safe. I was just trying to protect you, kiddo, that's it."

 

Eren didn't know what to think of it, given from Hanji's perspective he could see that Hanji had been trying to help him, and knowing that he is hot headed he would have tried to blame someone so powerful and dangerous without a single thought, and he would have definitely made some menancing enemies from both higher ups and the underworld. Levi was important and there were people who would give their lives to protect him, so how can a teenager like him collect enough evidence to turn him in?

 

But oh here he is, he is not just some teenager, he is the said influential man's property wasn't he? Rivaille kills for him and Levi lavishes him in seven star rated penthouses, and with expensive french food. He knows he has an upper hand and more power than he thinks he has.

 

"Hanji I.. have to turn him in, he needs to face justice" Eren hesitates as he tells this to Levi's bestfriend, but he knows he has to do this. 

 

"You know what? get me the evidence and I'll help you, kiddo, but till then I'll stay neutral, because you both are important to me" He could see Hanji's calculating gaze on him and he wonders what they're thinking about, he asks them so and they smile conspiratorially,

 

"It is a deadly game of cat and mouse, Eren, you don't have enough time, this summer is your deadline, if you don't turn Rivaille in then Levi will have you, and once he does he is not going to let you go as easily as he did in Sina, I wish you the best" with that they get up, leaving Eren wondering how they knew that he was with Levi in Sina, but he worries over the seriousness of the situation instead of asking; Levi let him go once but he won't be kind enough the next time. Eren is against a deadline now, he better turn Rivaille in before he loses his liberty to him, and Eren can never lose his freedom.

 

Never.


	12. A silver lining

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren finally gets the serious 911 call he has been waiting for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is unintentionally.. sad? Like I didn't want it to be this way but it just happened, but I bet the ending will leave you smiling. 
> 
> Sorry Connie, I love you.

When Eren comes back, he is exhausted from learning so much about the mysterious man. He feels like he knows Levi more but also about his power and influence, and he feels like the task he is upto is impossible. 

 

He walks through his house, deep in thought and trudges into his bedroom, he is so tired, and the warm bed is so inviting. He sluggishly changes his clothes and falls on his bed in deep sleep. 

 

***

 

"Hey Eren?" Auruo peeks in his cubicle the next day, and Eren looks up from the call he is taking and waves at him.

 

"Yes, I'll have the police at your house to catch the... cupcake thief, please stay put while I send the request," Eren says, bored. His life has changed so much but one thing that remained constant were these boring ass calls. Eren puts his headphones down the second the call goes through the police and he looks up at the older man again. 

 

"Watcha want?" He asks curiously.

 

"I'm thinking of taking Petra out, confess my feelings for her, what do you think I should do for the date?" 

 

 _Take her to a penthouse and fuck her senseless,_ Eren thinks wryly, but he shakes his head instead of saying what was on his mind, "you'll piss her off, dude. She's dating Hanji and they're a police officer, they'll beat your ass." 

 

"Hanji isn't even here! they're out for the day and this is my chance to show Petra that I'm perfect for her!" Auruo exclaims and ends up biting his tongue in his excitement, Eren laughs at him for his stupidity when another call comes through on his computer. He sighs and turns back to pick up his headphones and begins to recite his formal greeting as he takes the call, that is when he hears a sob on the other end.

 

"Hello?" He says hesitantly.

 

The sobbing stops and a cracked voice asks, "Tell me why I shouldn't kill myself right now." 

 

Eren pauses and he can hear the occasional sobs at the other end of the phone line, he bites his lip before he asks instead of answering, "what's your name?" 

 

"Co-Connie" 

 

"Connie Springer?" Eren asks, shocked. 

 

"Yes?" The boy replies on the other end suspiciously, Eren knows who Connie is, he studies in his high school! He was the joker of the class and all around a great boy. Eren couldn't believe it that it is the same guy who played one of the greatest prank war in last semester is sobbing in the phone right now.

 

"Hey Connie," Eren says softly, " you don't kill yourself cause you're worth it." 

 

"Worth it? Hahaha no,"  he cries, " I try to make everyone laugh and make sure they're happy but no one notices what I'm going through. My mom died last year and my dad left me, and I've been so lonely since then! No one cares about me, no one loves me." 

 

Eren's heart sinks because he knows how it feels like, thinking not being important was an awful feeling he started to disassociate himself years ago when he started protecting Armin, his logic was plain and simple: Armin would he beaten up if he doesn't help and so he must be important, and in turn it helped him. Ofcourse he hates being back in the pattern of normalcy and not feeling special after the crazy things he went through, but atleast he didn't have this doubt that no one loved him.

 

"Ofcourse someone loves you Connie, you're important. Think about how you make so many people laugh, those people probably have some shit they're going through in their lives, and you cheered them up, Connie, you probably made them smile more than they have done in the past week. You're important Connie cause you're selfless and so friendly, and despite of you not having a biological family, you have one that you've chosen; we are the family who you've chosen, we are the ones who wouldn't be the same if you left. You're the one who keeps us happy, Connie, you make people think, "Man, I am so glad that Connie is my friend"" Eren says passionately, "I'm also your friend Connie, and I am proud that you made this far, you deserve it, you deserve every ounce of happiness in the world." He slowly forwards the request to the police and keeps Connie on the line, he starts to sob and cry about how hard his life is and Eren's heart aches for him, but at the end the police reaches Connie while he was talking to Eren and they successfully enter the house and get the knife away from him.

 

When Eren keeps the phone down the whole place erupts in cheers and screams of happiness, everyone around him was listening in and Eren didn't even notice, he is soon engulfed by hugs and pats on his backs from his co-workers and he grins as he knows he's taken his first serious call successfully. Petra blows her nose as tears form in her eyes and Eren feels like he'll start to cry soon too. He sincerely hopes that Connie finds a family like he has found in this place.

 

***

 

Being home alone is when it hits him what really happened and Connie's sobs are echoing in his mind. His parents are out so he sneaks in some rum and coke to calm his mind down, he looks through his phone for the reply to the message he had sent Armin earlier asking him to update on Connie's condition, but he hasn't got a reply yet. He wonders how the kid is doing and he feels awful for him. Poor Connie, did he really think that he is not important and loved?

 

Eren wonders if his other friends ever think like they're not worthy, or if his parents think like that. He imagines sweet Petra doubting herself or even Hanji unable to cheer themselves up like they do to everyone around them. Eren wishes he could hug each and everyone of them and tell them that they're so worth it.

 

He feels the warmth of the rum making his way down his stomach and he shivers, there is so much emotional stress from hearing his friend talk like this and Eren started to feel down, this world is really a cruel place. 

 

He makes his way upstairs to his room and changes his clothes; he wears his boxers and an oversized shirt before climbing in the bed, his only thoughts are for his friends who feel awful, and a sob escapes him as his heart aches for them.

 

And then he feels strong arms wrap around him. 

 

Eren chokes, "how did you get in?" He asks tiredly and turns to those silver eyes he so missed, he looks over at that beautiful face and his heart lurches, he is so glad to see Levi that it hurts. 

 

"You left your backyard door open," Levi scans over his face and notices the tears, "what's wrong, my jewel?" 

 

At his nickname Eren begins to sob and spills the whole story out, he cries in Levi's shoulders and wraps his arms around him, tightly enough to never let go. Levi listens to him quietly and then he sighs as Eren finishes. 

 

"Do you know this brat's address?" Levi asks as he kisses away the residue of the tears.

 

"Ye-Yeah, " Eren stutters, and he tells him where he thinks his house is. Levi listens in and nods. 

 

Eren wants to ask why Levi wants to know where Connie lives but he is too tired, being back in Levi's arms feel wonderful and Eren sighs as he snuggles in.

 

"Sleep, love," Levi murmurs and Eren sleepily leaves a kiss on his neck before falling in a fitful sleep. 

 

***

 

The next day he wakes up alone and he looks around blearily, the tears have puffed his eyes up and he can hardly see but he still searches for the man; he can see the bed neatly made on the other side and it is cold when he touches the cotton sheets, so Levi must have left sometime last night. 

 

He feels saddened and he misses him so much, Eren is determined to find him and when he does that insufferable sex god is going get a really bad scolding from him. He gets ready to get out of the bed when his phone rings and his heart misses a beat. What if that's Levi? 

 

"Hello?" He answers breathlessly.

 

"Hey! Eren you're awake!" Armin's cheerful voice replies.

 

Normally Eren loves hearing his blond bestfriend's voice but right now he feels deflated, he really wanted it to be Levi 

 

"Whats up?" Eren yawns.

 

"Oh my god, you're still sleeping in? Anyways Eren, you wanted to know about Connie, right?" 

 

Eren perks up at the name, "Yeah, is he okay?" 

 

"Oh my god," Armin squeals, "someone left an anonymous package on his doorstep, it contained three tickets to hotel Liberté in Sina!! And there was a letter attached to it, saying 'you're worth this' and everyone is so dumbfounded cause no one has this much money to afford that. I dunno how this happened, but Connie is so happy!" Eren listens in shock, _wait_ , three tickets to the expensive hotel Liberté? Who would do this?

 

_Do you know this brat's address?_

Eren looks at the neatly made bed beside him and smiles, a huge, happy smile.

 

"Yeah I wonder who did this," he says softly and bites his lip.

 

He knew exactly who did it and he was going to find him. Damn him for being this sweet and damn him for making Eren fall for him a little harder for him than he had already did.

 

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man Levi, you're making your jewel all mushy mushy.
> 
> But guys on a serious note, you all are worth it. You are loved and important, just remember that, please.
> 
> I love you all ♡


	13. Love thy Mother Earth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi takes Eren out on a date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shameless floof and. . . 
> 
>  
> 
> I had my doctor's appointment today and she asked me what I did in my spare time. I told her I wrote, and she asked me what type of stories.
> 
> I answered plot driven stories, yep that is totally what I write.

It is a Saturday and Eren has a day off, instead of lazing around like he usually would, he decides to go looking for Levi. How dare he leave him alone for almost two weeks then just visit him in the night? One night to be exact, he just fucking left after that!

 

He is fuming as he makes his way to the kitchen for coffee and almost misses the note pinned on counter top, he double takes as his gaze narrows in on the pink post it note. Wondering who has post it notes in this house, he makes his way towards it and he picks the sticky paper up, and realizes the elegant writing on it.

 

_My jewel,_

_Get ready by seven, sharp. We're going out for dinner; don't forget to dress formally._

_Love,_

_Levi._

 

Eren smiles automatically at the post it and his heart jumps. But _oh,_ he will not give Levi the satisfaction of knowing how his little note made his heart flutter. No, he will not go on this dinner date with him. Were they kids that he couldn't ask him on the face?

 

He begins to clean his house after breakfast and completes the mundane chores like putting the clothes in washer and dryer, and cutting vegetables. He hums, knowing this will make his mom's day brighter and will definitely make her smile.

 

He is dusting the kitchen counter top when his phone buzzes, alerting him of an incoming message. He sighs and keeps the dirty cloth down to check his phone, and frowns at the unknown number.

 

 **[Unknown number]** Don't forget, 7: 00 pm sharp.

 

Eren sighs at the demanding tone. _Levi_. Well he still hasn't changed his mind, and totally replies in a professional way.

 

 **[Me]** Fuck you.

 

He doesn't have to wait long before his phone is abuzz with a new message.

 

 **[Unknown number]** Normally I am down for that idea but why such sudden disobedience?

 

Disobedience? What was Eren? His slave? 

 

 **[Me]** I'm sorry for not wanting to go on dinner date with a man who doesn't fucking visit me 4 almst 2 wks! And then comes in the dead of night like a shitty thief!! If you're so down at the idea of fucking then do that. Go fuck YOURSELF. 

 

Eren feels good to text that, he won't lie, and he waits smugly for the reply, thinking that he must have rendered the other man speechless. 

 

But he was wrong, and the reply is almost instant. 

 

 **[Unknown number]** Tch, such dirty mouth. I like it better when it is screaming my name. But I'm not taking no for an answer. Get ready Eren, or I'll carry you there myself, both you and I know that I'm capable of that.

 

Eren throws his phone away in frustration and makes up his mind, he will not go, he'll make sure of that.

 

***

 

Eren isn't very sure of his resolve when it's 7: 05 pm and he is pinned against his bed by Levi. He is wearing a suit and a red tie, and it looks so goddamn sexy on him that Eren cannot think straight anymore.

 

"Let me go!" He gasps and Levi chuckles darkly, his eyes roam over Eren with blatant lust.

 

"And why should I listen when you are so intent on disobeying me? Especially now," he leans forward and kisses Eren's jaw softly, "that I can punish you." 

 

Eren whimpers as Levi leans back and begins to nip at his neck, and bites it sharply. The pain from it goes straight to his dick, and he can feel himself harden. 

 

"I'm not..not," Eren stutters, trying to gather his haywire thoughts, "I'm not a dog that can be punished." 

 

Levi hums and suddenly pauses, and Eren can _feel_ him smirks devilishly against his neck, "you're not a dog, no, but you are my precious jewel, and I must polish you to my liking." 

 

Levi doesn't wait for Eren's reply and instead opts for kissing him senselessly on the lips. Eren easily gives him the entrance and savours the coffee and mint taste in the other man's mouth. He moans and bites Levi's bottom lip hungrily before the man is pulling back. Eren makes an annoyed face at the fact and wraps his arms around his neck to cage him. His efforts are fruitless and Levi looks at him, amused at his attempts. 

 

"We have to go, get up." 

 

With that Levi pulls back completely and gets off the bed, leaving Eren stunned and panting, "wa-wait.." he stutters and blushes. Levi turns back to him and raises one eyebrow from the edge of the bed, _that bastard._  Eren could still see the glimmer of amusement in those sharp silver eyes. 

 

"Wait for what? we have to leave soon"  he smirks.

 

Eren looks away from the infuriating man. He clearly knows what Levi is doing and he is enjoying his discomfort. Ofcourse Levi would get Eren all hot and bothered, not to mention painfully hard, and pull back without a strand of hair out of the place. Was this his so called 'punishment'?

 

"I... I have a problem," Eren forces out, _god_ , kill him already!

 

"I know that, " Levi quips, "what do you want me to do about it?" 

 

Eren narrows his eyes at the man, was he serious? "you asshole, you're doing this on purpose!" He spits out angrily.

 

The man smiles, and his silver eyes glitter dangerously, and he gracefully climbs back in the bed again and is between Eren's legs, moving up till he is face to face to the boy beneath him. His hand slowly strokes his smooth stomach and then it trails downward till it rest on the curve of Eren's hard cock. Eren moans at the contact and Levi smiles wider before massaging him slowly, and as soon as Eren whimpers, he pulls his hand back. Eren makes frustrated noises at the loss of the heat and looks up at Levi with clear want in his eyes.

 

"You wanted me to go fuck myself? I think I'll take that offer up, " Levi chuckles and he pulls back again. He straightens the creases in his expensive suit before looking over at a glaring Eren. 

 

"Well? We have a dinner reservation, are you going to get up or I have to carry your lazy ass?" he asks, his voice full of mirth. 

 

"Fuck you,"  Eren growls, this fucking guy was so cruel! how dare he backfire his own plan on him? But he gets up, aching, painfully hard, and plotting revenge. He walks to his cupboard stiffly and takes out the only suit he owned. It was a dark blue tuxedo he doesn't remember why he bought, but he knows that it looks good on him. He ignores Levi as he walks past him and out in the hallway, and slams the bathroom door loudly behind him.

 

Levi is waiting for Eren when the younger man gets out. His hair is still wet from the unfortunate cold shower he had to take, but he ruffles it to get the messy look, he walks in the room and looks around for something, and he knows Levi is watching him curiously, but he focuses his attention on the small bottle of golden body glitter he has in his room. He finds it and with his back turned to Levi, dabs it around his eyes. That brought out his eyes and made his already unique features damn impressive and sexy. He keeps the bottle for special occassions and he knows he has used it in the right time, because when he turns around, he can see Levi's eyes widen up as he takes the teen in. Eren mentally congratulates himself at the small victory; he was left aching and hard, so he'll make Levi suffer too.

 

And this was nothing, he already has a plan for that, and he grins inwardly as he remembers the details that will surely leave Levi begging for him. He walks over to the man who is sitting on his bed and then smiles innocently, "Well? Are we leaving or not?" 

 

Levi smiles tautly, and he gets up, and walks out of the room. Eren follows him as they head out of the house. It is a warm evening and Eren is already starting to sweat. He hoped that Levi has a decent car for the ride, and belatedly wonders where they are going.

 

Eren is about to ask when he stops abruptly, and watches Levi as he walks over a car parked on the road. The car was camouflaged by the bushes and trees of his front garden cause no way Eren would have missed it if it were in his driveway. His mouth hangs open as Levi opens up the door to the car, to a fucking Lamborghini Aventador. Eren could sell his soul to just touch the beautiful, sleek car and he is pretty sure he is drooling right now but _damn_. His eyes trail up slowly from the car to the man who owned it. Levi is staring at Eren with an expression so amused that Eren looks away.

 

"How much money do you have?" He trembles as he slowly approaches the car; he feels like it is a dream and the second he looks away both the car and the man behind it would disappear.

 

"Enough to buy hundred of these," he frowns, "or maybe more." 

 

Eren nods, not really listening. He touches the car softly and marvels at its curves and smoothness. This is one car he'd definitely sell his soul to Satan for. 

 

But hasn't he already?

 

"Why don't you touch or look at me the way you do to this car, " Levi says with annoyance, "careful jewel, I might just throw away this car if you start to give it more attention than me." 

 

"You won't," Eren shakes his head, "this car is too costly." 

 

For the first time in his life he understands Levi's overprotectiveness, had this been his own car he would have killed the person who'd dare touch it without his consent. 

 

Speaking of which, _he is touching Levi's property_. A very, very bad idea. He jumps back immediately, and looks at Levi to make sure he is not standing with a knife already, not that he can do anything about that, but Levi isn't even paying attention, he is busy opening his side of the car's door, and then he walks over to where Eren is standing. Eren is starting to get nervous cause fuck, maybe he did notice and Levi will kill him now, but Levi glides past him gracefully and opens up his door for him. 

 

Eren is surprised at the gentlemanly behaviour. Levi is such a refined person, and surprisingly thoughtful. His thoughtfulness reminds Eren about what Levi had done last night for Connie, and smiles at the thought as he gets in. Levi gently closes the door behind him, and walks around and gets in the driver's seat.

Eren is marveling the interior decor to notice Levi sliding in, and screams in delight when the engine starts. It is seriously purring and the low vibrations enchant Eren. After all, he is sitting in one of the most costliest cars in the world, who wouldn't lose their shit at this?

 

Levi pulls out and gently swerves the car and drives on the opposite side of the Jaeger house. He drives past the MP building, and heads for an unfamiliar area. Normally Eren knows the area around Maria pretty well, and he knows why he is unknown to this very part; it is because it the upper side of the town where the filthy rich lived. 

 

"Where are we going?" Eren asks suspiciously.

 

"Somewhere," Levi replies cryptically. 

 

They pass by expensive hotels and restaurants and Eren watches in facination as they drive past the grand entrances and attentive valets. He sees ostentatious cars coming to a stop in front of the buildings, and rich men and women get out of it. The area was extremely nice and safe, and while Eren lived in a good area himself because of his parents' high paying jobs could afford that, it was nothing compared to the upper high end class area of Maria. It was like an utopia.

 

He watches as the expensive buildings and tourist attractions pass by them in a blur as Levi continues to drive. It is twilight by the time they pass by the rich golf clubs, and Eren can see old people playing, some of them stop and ogle as Levi drives past, jealously flashing in their eyes.

 

Eren thinks they've left the city behind them because the buildings soon gets replaced by trees. He is getting worried whether he'll be back before his parents come home, but then, Levi starts to slow down, and Eren watches in facination as an open pasture comes to view. The green grass is like an endless sea, and he can see as far as the horizon uninterrupted. The cool summer breeze sways the grass and Eren watches them move like waves in the wind. He spots small colourful flowers dotting the field at interwals and it reminds Eren of a fairytale setting. 

 

Levi stops the car near the starting of the field, and the second the purring of the engine stops Eren is out. He is taking his shoes off, and he sighs as he feels the warm ground beneath him, pulsating with life. The wind rushes past his feet and the grass tickles his skin but he doesn't mind. This is it, precious freedom personified. 

 

He looks back at Levi and smiles warmly as he notices the man taking out a picnic basket, for some reason it makes him giggle as he makes his way to help him. 

 

Levi makes a disgusted face at Eren's uncovered feet, "Tch, too dirty." 

 

"Aw, come on, Levi!" Eren whines, "it feels so good.. so free.." Eren turns back dreamily and closes his eyes as wind caresses his face and ruffles his hair. Eren smiles, wide. He had imagined Levi would take him to some expensive restaurant because of the unlimited money he had, but to come to an open field for an outdoor dinner date? It was perfect, it was fucking priceless. 

 

"I didn't get you out here to be all poetic and shit, take this basket and chose a spot," He hears the man grumble behind him.

 

Eren smiles as he takes the basket from the grumpy man and finds a spot. It is in the centre of a circle of colourful flowers and it provides plenty of privacy. He plops down on the warm earth, happily. He watches as Levi grimaces and makes his way over to where he is sitting with the basket, and gingerly take his coat off, and spreads it carefully on the ground before sitting down on it. 

 

It dawns on Eren as he watches Levi settling. Levi wasn't comfortable, and how can he be? This man is used to wine and dine in the best hotels and restaurants. Yet he was here, surrounded by earth and dirt just for Eren. It was incredibly.. sweet. 

 

"If you had planned to come here, why are we dressed in tuxedos?" Eren asks curiously, not that he minds a bit, he thinks he might have a kink of Levi wearing formal suits. It hugs his delicious curves so well and the shirt he is wearing inside has three buttons popped open, revealing that smooth, milky skin of his thoat. Eren tries to keep his eyes up and away, but fails miserably. 

 

"Because," Levi replies dryly, "If we're going to go on a date then I would do it right. I know you well enough to know your 'well dressed' translates imto ratty jeans and dirty shirt. " Levi wrinkles his nose and brushes off invisible lint off his well fitted black pants. 

 

Eren snorts, "I'm not that fashion challenged and date? Isn't that something that happens between, you know, individuals romantically interested in each other?" 

 

Levi glares at him, and Eren thinks that he looks more offended at the fact that Eren thinks that he is well dressed, "Your cupboard is a fucking mess, and I know for a fact that you're more than romantically interested in me." 

 

Eren raises an eyebrow at that, "you're pretty confident that I like you, and as a matter of fact I don't mind if we go back right now because this is not a date." 

 

 _Wrong_ , Eren definitely feels this is a very romantic date but he'll rather die than admit that to Levi. He cannot show just how much the man affected him so easily.

 

Levi shrugs, "suits me, we can go back to my place and I can fuck you senseless, but, this afternoon is about you, my jewel, because you're mine and I'll spoil you in every way I deem possible." 

 

Eren blushes and doesn't comment on anything after that, instead he opens the picnic basket and almost moans at the delicious aroma that wafts through the air. He takes in a deep breath, and enjoys the sweet scent.

 

" _Cassoulet au canard,_ with _Poireaux Vinaigrette_ as the main veg dish," Levi murmurs, "and _croquembouche_ as the sweet dish."

The names go over Eren's head as he greedily dives in the contents of the basket. Levi has packed plates, spoons and napkins, and Eren picks them up and places the food in it. He waits for the dishes to cool down before taking a small bite to make sure it is not too hot. _Yep_ , this tasted amazing, and Eren moans shamelessly at the variety of flavor that bursts in his mouth. He opens his eyes and sees that Levi's silver eyes has wide gone wide in shock at Eren's reaction; he would have laughed at the man, but his mouth was stuffed with food and he'd rather not choke on it, and focuses on savoring each bite instead. He hides the basket behind himself as Levi reaches for it, and growls at him, he seriously meant to eat the food without sharing, but Levi laughs, and Eren's heart flips when he sees the familiar warmth enter in those piercing eyes he last saw in his college pictures online. 

 

He's mesmerized, and doesn't even notice when Levi shakes his head and hugs his knees instead, "this was supposed to be a date, " he chuckles, "what kind of a shitty dinner it is going to be if you eat up all the fucking food?" 

 

"Well, if you would have done it properly then I would have felt guilty. But first taking me to your penthouse in Sina and fucking me like the world is going to end the next day, then taking me to dinner is very rude. Serves you right to be hungry." 

 

"Oh I'm hungry, " Levi smirks, "but not for food, and how did you know that I own hotel Liberté?" 

 

_Fuck._

 

Eren curses himself mentally, "maybe I searched you up on the internet..." 

 

"And why is that?" Levi asks softly.

 

"I wanted to know more about you, " Eren lies, "wanted to know who you exactly are." 

 

Eren feels like Levi knows he's lying, but all he does is nod at his explanation and say, " That's it? How very rude to search me up when I am right here to answer your questions, my love, I'm disappointed." 

 

"Hey!" Eren replies indignantly, "I'd love to ask you but you've not been here for two fucking weeks! You left me alone on my own so sorry for digging about you myself," Levi opens his mouth to interrupt but Eren is on a roll; he pours out all his emotions caused by Levi's absence into words, and his voice rises till he is almost shouting, "You fucking asshole! Call me jewel, call me your property but fucking leave me alone the second I am back in Maria! So pardon me if you're disappointed in me for searching you up but fuck you, it is not like I care!" 

 

Levi blinks as he quietens down and smiles coyly instead, totally opposite of what Eren was expecting, "you missed me that much?" He grins.

 

"Don't try to change the topi-" 

 

"I have a job," Levi interrupts, his silver eyes still amused. 

 

Eren is taken aback at the answer, "what?" He asks again.

 

"I have a job, my jewel, like other adults. Do you think the money I earn grows on some big ass trees? I was away cause I have fucking work to do." 

 

 _Oh_ , Eren remembers that Levi is a marketing executive for an important company, and the higher positions like that comes with serious responsibilities. Ofcourse he was busy doing his work, _stupid, stupid, stupid_. Did Eren really think that Levi would devote all his time to spoil his stupid ass?

 

The mood grows somber and Levi sighs, "Fuck. Look at me, Eren."

 

Eren is surprised to hear his name and he looks up at those beautiful silver eyes, Levi shakes his head and opens his arms, and Eren keeps down his food and crawls towards him, and settles in his lap and rests his head against his chest as Levi wraps his arms around him. 

 

"You're more important to me than anything I own, my love, but I am a busy man, " Levi hums and Eren feels the vibrations in his back. Levi kisses the right side of his neck in apology and Eren sighs.

 

"It was wrong of me to assume that you weren't busy... but tell me in the future if you're leaving, please?  I don't want to stay in doubt for weeks that you have grown weary of me," Eren confesses reluctantly, but Levi laughs.

 

"Never would I get tired of you, I can spend thousands of years and I would still think of you as the most precious thing that is all mine. Never doubt that." Levi whispers against his hair.

 

Eren's heart flutters and he turns around to face Levi, and kisses him hard, he tries to convey how he is feeling- the warmth in his stomach and the ache in his heart, how Levi makes him feel like he's flying- in the kiss because there are no words to explain. Levi returns his fervor, their lips smack as they hungrily kiss each other. Levi tries to pull back, but Eren sticks to him a leech. 

 

"Fuck, Eren," Levi growls as Eren pulls back and attacks his smooth neck, " If you continue then I would end up fucking you here before we reach my place." 

 

"Then do it," Eren says huskily against his skin, "fuck me, make me scream under the starry sky. Do it" 

 

Eren squeaks as the very next second his back was on the ground and Levi's right leg between his own. Eren tries to rut against hm, just to get some friction, and Levi lets him. He slowly kisses Eren's neck and then makes his way up, tantalizingly slow, making sure that each inch of him was worshipped. 

 

"Look at you," Levi blows a raspberry on the edge of his jaw, "your tan skin is so warm and soft. So fucking enticing." 

 

" _Ahh_..Levi... _ah_ ," Eren moans as Levi makes his way up from his jaw, "stop..teasing me.." 

 

But Levi smiles against his skin, and finally reaches Eren's lips.

 

"Your bottom lip is quivering, is that how bad you want me? " Levi swipes his tongue against those lips, and Eren parts them without a fight. Levi explores him slowly. His hands make his way to Eren's shirt and swiftly begins to unbutton his clothes. Eren struggles to free himself and sighs when he feels the caging garments off his torso. Levi's soft shirt presses against his chest and he groans at the barrier as he moves against Levi's thigh. 

 

He stops suddenly when Levi's fingers begin to expertly unbutton his pants and slides them down with ease. Levi chuckles at Eren's eagerness, and removes his thigh from between Eren's, and instead cups Eren's hard cock with his right palm. Eren whines at the gentle contact, and begs Levi for friction, but Levi's hand stays still. 

 

"You feel so nice, Eren. You're so beautiful, precious, and all mine, and mine alone." 

 

Levi lays butterfly kisses down Eren's throat and slowly down Eren's chest, he takes one hard nipple between his teeth, and pulls it, eliciting a whine from the younger boy. Eren tries to pull Levi back up to his needy lips but Levi swats those hands away.

 

"No," Levi admonishes him, "let me look at you, worship you like you deserve."

 

Eren moans as Levi makes his way further down and grips Eren's thighs to stop his struggling, while nipping and biting his skin, and murmuring how he adored the soft brown skin the whole way. Eren tries to wrestle free from Levi to get more friction down where he really wants, but Levi was too strong for him. It is very slow and sensually torturous, but Eren finally feels Levi's warm breath in the inner side of his thigh, so very near to where he wants him to be.

 

"You're so good for me, my jewel, so good," Levi says softly before Eren feels his warm breath on his painfully hard cock.

And then Levi takes him in his mouth.

Eren's head snaps back and his back arches off the warm earth, he can feel the soft, cool winds whistle past his sweaty skin and it feels good, but none equal to how it feels when Levi sucks him. The euphoric feeling is uncomparible as Eren feels Levi pull back till his mouth circles the head, then down till he can feel his dick touch the back of his mouth. He does it again and again, without gagging even once. Eren moans wantonly as he tries to buck his hips in the wet heat, and Levi doesn't stop him; he lets Eren thrust as he continues to go up and down. 

 

Eren tries to watch Levi go down on him but it is too erotic, instead his hands find their way in those silky black strands and they pull at it, Levi lets Eren pull him back and those silver eyes flick up at him, they watch Eren in a predatory way, captivating him with in those beautiful eyes, before leaning forward and licking the underside of his cock, without breaking eyecontact. Eren desperately tugs at his hair for Levi to continue, and after a few seconds, he finally breaks the hypnotic eye contact and takes Eren in again. The heat feels so, _so good_ , and Eren looks away from the sensual sight and up at the blanket of stars over him, lighting up the dark sky as far as he can see. He whimpers and feels the gentle air on him; it intensifies the pleasure he is feeling under the night sky, which is almost as ethereal as the man sucking him off.

Eren can feel the heat build up in his stomach, and he hardly has the time to warn before he cums with a scream. Levi catches it all and Eren looks down at the man, he's still gripping his black locks tightly, and slowly releases the silky strands. He marvels at how wrecked Levi looks, with eyes showing blatant lust, the hair messed up thanks to Eren, and his lips were wet and red, and they were just begging to be kissed senseless by Eren.

 

Eren tries to get up just to do that, but he was so comfortable and still high from his orgasm that he just lays where he is, and instead weakly raises his arms to the man. Levi gets the message and he crawls to where Eren is, and takes him his arms and settles down beside the young boy. Eren worries that Levi is going to go crazy from being so close to dirt but Levi shushes him gently as he begins to object, and Eren quietens down, too sated to worry anymore. 

 

They snuggle under the star studded sky like that for hours, with gentle winds blowing and endless fields of green accompanying their content hearts. 

 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to ask my dad for the French dishes since he is in the food industry, and he almost broke down cause lmao, I can't cook to save my life and have zero interest in food except when I'm consuming it.
> 
>  
> 
> Things I do to make a gay fic accurate..
> 
>  
> 
> Anyways next chapter is again, floof, and hey! Levi/Eren and Hanji/Petra double date!!
> 
> Thank you for your lovely comments everyone, I have no words for how happy they make me. It makes ME content
> 
> ♡


	14. Double trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two couples go on a date together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you guys are suspicious as to why I am posting this much fluff, then all I have to say is:
> 
>  
> 
> You are right. 
> 
>    
> Okay I wrote this chapter ages ago but unfortunately I am tripping on meds right now and I just messed it all up. So I'm sorry for the chapter, I'm giggling and loopy as fuck.

Eren makes his way back to an another day at his workplace when he is greeted by Petra sitting in his cubicle, and she is admiring her nails for some reason.

 

"Hey Petra!" Eren greets her enthusiastically but Petra doesn't greet in reply, instead she turns her sharp gaze at Eren and growls, "you're hiding something important." 

 

 _You're damn right_ , Eren thinks, but smiles at Petra like he is clueless, "what might that be?" 

 

Her honey eyes narrow, "you're dating and you haven't told me!" she exclaims unhappily.

 

Her voice is loud enough that it attracts people from the near by cubicles; namely Eld, Gunther and Auruo. The three look up at Petra's claim and within seconds they're standing by Eren's place. He groans inwardly, this is the important secret he has been hiding?

 

"How did you know?" Eren asks, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. 

 

Auruo gasps, "wait, you're dating? What the fuck?" 

 

He says it is a disbelieving voice and Petra focuses her glare on him instead, he shrinks back behind Gunther. 

 

She turns back, "aha! so you ARE dating! How could you not tell mama Petra?" 

 

Eren bites his lip, "It's not like we're exclusive or something, I guess.. we're close? " 

 

Petra looks at him in shock, "nonsense!" she exclaims again, "I saw you at the mall with him being all chummy. How did you even find a model, Eren? That guy was seriously so hot, and.." Petra grins at him slyly, "you're not so good at hiding those marks with high up collar shirts. Nice try though." 

 

Eren's hand immediately goes up to his neck and he groans as his fingers touch the exposed skin. It was the Monday after his date with Levi, and Eren had been really hoping those love bites would fade away before his work week started, but he knew it was wishful thinking; on top of that, Levi was determined to mark him up again and again, no matter how much he tried to pull away, it was futile. The only way to get free from his arms was going out and it was him that came up with the idea of going to the mall on Sunday for a movie. Levi flat out refused going to the movie because of dirty halls, but reluctantly said yes to the mall.

 

It was a bad idea.

 

The second they entered the mall, the place had almost come to a standstill, because everyone stopped and stared as Levi walked by. It wasn't only his extraordinarily sexy face and body that was the attention grabber, it was his powerful aura and personality that made him the centre of attraction.

At first watching both men and women alike giggle and ogle at Levi shamelessly was fun; it made Eren internally giddy to think that a beautiful guy like Levi had chosen him out of anyone he could have had, but as the evening wore on and the looks and glances didn't reduce and instead started to get more sexual in nature, Eren started to get mad and the fact his frustration was Levi's source of entertainment made it worse. And he did it, grabbed Levi there and then and kissed him hard. He heard gasps of shock but he didn't care, his hands found Levi's silky hair and he kissed him hard enough that he felt like they would fuse together. It was almost shocking at how easily Levi let him take the control, and until he was desperate for breath, Eren didn't pull back, but when he did, he was breathing hard. Levi was looking perfect as usual after the intense makeout session, but it was his piercing eyes that said it all: he was wrecked. 

 

Petra must have been there at that time, and must have seen them kissing, and damn her, she is shouting about it. She demands to know who the fucking hottie he is dating is, and Eren tries to change the topic but to no avail, and what was he even supposed to talk about? He didn't even know if Levi and him were officially dating or not!

 

But Eren barely manages not to give in under the pressure of Petra's interrogations, but when he thinks that he'll make it through another day unscathed, Petra pulls out the trump card.

She calls in Hanji. 

 

Eren is trying to back away when he runs in the maniac police officer who he sees is frowning at him when he turns around, "what did you do, kiddo?" they ask.

 

Eren opens his mouth to reply but Petra beats him to it, "Oh Hanji," she says in a sad voice, "I saw Eren out with a friend and now he is not telling me about him," she stresses on the word 'friend' and adds a fake sniffle in the end for more dramatization. Eren glares at her.

 

Eren clears his throat; it is obvious that Petra hasn't told Hanji how his 'friend' looks like or what they were upto, and he would rather keep it that way with them, "Listen," he says, "it was nothing, and Petra, I hang out with Armin all the time, never have you asked me about him!" 

 

"Oh I don't wanna know about your bestfriend, but your boy-" Petra is interrupted when Hanji squeaks.

 

"You're going out with someone, Eren?" Hanji's eyes are looking like they'll pop out of the sockets and fear flashes in their eyes. Are they worried because they suspect Eren is going out with Levi? Well it is a thing to worry about.. 

 

"Eren," they ask gravelly, "who are you going out with?" 

 

Petra jumps in at that, "that's what I'm tryna ask! He won't tell me about it!" She pouts, "hiding things from me, what kind of a friend are you?" 

 

"I..er," Eren is at a loss, should he just lie? Should he just say who he is going out with? Petra wouldn't really know who Levi is unless Hanji has told her about him, but if she has seen Levi in the mall and couldn't guess who it was, then Hanji must have been hiding their best friend's name from her.

 

And there was a good reason for that, too.

 

If Hanji doesn't want her to know then Eren isn't going to tell her for her safety's sake, "Petra he is.. just a friend okay," he blushes as he says that. 

 

"No friend can make you blush like that! You won't tell me who it is then this is what I will have to do. We're going to go out on a date." 

 

Auruo, who has been silent for so long finally opens his stupid mouth, "you're going out on a date with Eren, Petra? Why not me?" 

 

Petra snorts," I meant a double date. Me, Hanji, Eren and his mysterious lover. And why would I go out with you?" 

 

Hanji wraps their arms around Petra and glares at him," Careful stud, I'm still here." 

 

Auruo sneers, "she'll like me better than you one day, Zöe. Just wait." 

 

"Why would I?" Petra says from Hanji's arms, "I love Hanji, and I like you like a brother." 

 

Eld and Gunther, who have been silent so far, sneer at Auruo while he flushes dark red. Eren steps in and pats his arm in condolences, _poor guy._

 

Petra doesn't notice, "Eren, I know where you live so don't test me. Double date on Wednesday afternoon in that new Italian bistro near Stohess hospital." 

 

At the end Eren tries to give excuses as to why he and his 'friend' cannot come on the date, but he cannot delve in further without giving away who the person is to Petra. Even Hanji is unusually quiet. As someone who knows who he is dating, they should be the first one saying no to the double date. And in between the screaming, shouting and the cajoling that takes place, Eren finally acquiesces. He'll have to think up of something else before Wednesday. 

 

It did give him two day headstart. 

 

Hanji volunteers to drop him at his house, and Eren cannot say no, he knows they're going to drill him about dating Levi, and he deserves it too. If he plans to turn Levi behind the bars then he'll be seen as the prime accomplice during the investigation. Dating him was the stupidest idea Eren has come up with so far, how can he do this to himself?

So why does his heart beat painfully at the idea of breaking up with Levi?

 

After  Hanji parks the car in front of his house, they turn to Eren and say gravely, "Eren, why are you dating him? " 

 

"I don't know, Hanji" Eren fesses up, "I really like him, okay, fuck." He really is stupid, Hanji is right, knowing all the risks and the fact this relationship is doomed from the start, then why is he dating Levi? Right, cause he is head over heels in..like. _No_ , he only likes Levi, that's it.

 

"Listen Eren," Hanji says softly, "It is dangerous dating a guy, do you have any idea what will happen to the poor man if Levi finds out that you're going out? It won't be pretty." 

 

Eren is confused, _ok what?_ "Um.." he starts to say but Hanji shushes him up, "I'm sorry, I know you really like this guy, Eren. I can see it in your eyes but you need to be careful, think about the poor boy's life!"

 

It suddenly dawn on Eren why Hanji didn't say no to the double date, they had no sweet clue as to who the person Eren was going out with. He was hoping to come up with a plan with Hanji to get out of the date, but now he was on his own. 

 

This means he has to ask the evil genius for help. 

 

***

 

"We cannot?" Levi echoes.

"We cannot." Eren confirms.

"Why?" 

 

"You can't be serious," Eren shakes his head as he drinks his coffee.

 

Levi smiles, "I'm not serious?" 

 

"Yeah well," Eren traces the rim of the cup, "Going on a double date? Not to mention that it is Hanji who is going to be coming." 

 

Levi looks up from the file he is reading and at the boy sitting behind the kitchen counter, glowering, "And shitty glasses has no fucking clue that it is me who is going to come with you? If I can do anything to wipe that maniacal smile off that stupid face, I would." 

 

Eren groans, "A date doesn't have to be necessary for that..." he tips the cup up and drains the last bit of coffee, _damn_ it was delicious. He doesn't know why he is shocked about it. Levi is a masterful cook among other things and Eren made the mistake of asking him how he got so good at making food, and all Levi did was smirk and say,

"I am good with my hands." 

 

Eren didn't ask anything after that. 

 

But now they were sitting in the kitchen and Eren is suspicious as to how Levi knows where the ingredients are kept. He dismissed the earlier instances when Levi had come in his room, thinking that the general layout of the houses was the explanation as to how he knew where his room was, but how did he know..?

 

"I think it is a good idea," Levi leafs through the pages of the monthly report he had gotten last week. He has been muttering 'fucking idiots' for so long that it was in the evening that Eren had finally screamed at him that it was very rude that Levi was at his home and not paying attention to him. Levi was extremely amused by that and to make up to Eren, he made him coffee and that's how they were here, Eren still fuming and Levi glaring at the report in the kitchen.

 

"We can go out on an another date, and I know for a fact that you like dates with me," Levi looks up and smirks evilly. Eren looks away, ofcourse Levi wouldn't let him forget the very fact that their first date was under the stars and Eren got the best fucking blow job by the end of it. Something changed between them after that night, they weren't just physical with each other, there was an emotional connection which made Eren's heart flutter whenever he thought about it. And the question rises in his mind again: what were they?

 

"And," Levi continues, "if there is a chance of you kissing me like you in the mall then we're going." 

 

Eren grumbles, "we don't need to be on a date for that." He is still looking away when he feels a finger under his chin, Levi makes him look up and meet those silver eyes of his. Being so close to him, Eren could see the small specks of blue in them. _God_ they were beautiful.

 

"Listen," Levi says softly, "We'll leave if you start to feel uncomfortable, okay?" 

 

Eren finally gives in and nods. 

 

***

 

Wednesday was much cooler than expected, thanks to the cool breeze blowing, and Eren is relieved that he is not sweating more than usual as he makes his way to the bistro where Hanji and Petra are already seated. It is a quaint little place situated in a nice suburban area, and Eren has been dying to come to this place ever since he visited his father in the nearby Stohess hospital. He spots the couple giggling among themselves and smiles, _damn_ , they look really cute together.

 

He briefly wonders why he couldn't he have such a normal relationship where he can be out and about with the guy he loves, but then not everyone ever gets a silver eyed sex god as a partner, do they?

 

Speaking of which, where was Levi?  

 

Eren was sure that he had messaged Levi the time and place, but didn't know if Levi had seen it. He has been really busy for the past few days, since it was summer and the peak of season. He has been occupied with his company, and has been devoting less and less time to Eren. He can pout, complain, and probably go out with someone else in front of him and Levi wouldn't even look up from his files.

 

Scratch the last one out, he wouldn't do that, just for precaution's sake.

 

He strolls upto the couple and waves at the energetic duo. They're sitting together facing the road and Eren sits opposite to them, wincing as the sunlight falls directly on his face.

 

"Eren, I hope you don't mind that I already ordered Piña Colada for all four of us, it was too hot for us to wait!" Petra greets him with giggles but Hanji frowns.

 

"Eren," They say, "are you sure that your date will make it today?" 

He gets the double meaning behind her question immediately, they're worried if his 'date' is even alive at this point, and gives them a tight lipped smile. 

 

"I don't know," he says mysteriously.

 Hanji frowns even harder at his response. 

 

Eren makes an innocent face and instead converses with Petra; she is talking about how Auruo is mad at her for no reason and huffs about how she will ignore him from now on. She was the only one talking because Hanji would frown and tap their fingers on the table nervously instead of conversing, and they would occasionally look up with worried eyes at Eren, and he starts to feel bad about hiding that his date was, infact, Levi but it was too late to say anything about it. 

 

The Piña Coladas came in and it was a relief in the summery afternoon. The cool winds blew now and then, and it would ruffle Petra's hair which led her to shriek and Eren to laugh. 

She was laughing and trying to pull the hair away from her face when she looks up and goes deathly quiet. Eren doesn't even have to turn around to see what made her go silent because he hears the gentle purr of the Lamborghini Aventador. His heart starts to beat hard as he hears the door open. Levi was here.

Hanji's head snaps up, and their eyes widen as they take in Levi.

Petra whispers, "holy hell he's hotter than sun." 

 

Eren turns around and watches Levi walking gracefully towards where they're sitting, his eyes widen as they take in his tight fitted white shirt and sinful black slacks, and he is wearing sunglasses on top of that. _Fuck_. Fuck he looks _so good_. His hair is neatly combed but the fringes still fall on those glasses, which make him look like he is an airbrushed model. He can hear Petra swoon, and someone at the bistro sighs dreamily, but Eren's heart flutters as he sees Levi walking towards the table and even with the glasses on, Eren feels those silver eyes fixated on him.

 

Eren gets up just as he hears Hanji gasp, and smiles as Levi takes off his sunglasses to show off those hyponitic silver eyes. He looks over at Eren and smiles softly.

 

"I'm sorry I am late, traffic was a bitch" Levi said by the way of greeting and Eren blushes at the crude language. He waits till Levi sits down before sitting down beside him. He can almost hear Petra trying to calm herself down, but the look on her face told him that she was barely passing by. Eren couldn't blame her for that, Levi has that effect on everyone. 

 

Eren turns around with a smile and he looks at Hanji who looks like someone has eletrocuted them, their face was like an open book and Eren could see the thoughts flit through their head: _had Levi killed Eren's date? Why is Eren so relaxed?_ Finally, Eren feels too bad and so decides to spare them. 

 

He starts with the introductions, "Well then! Levi, that's Petra, and you already know Hanji. Petra this is my.. boyfriend, Levi." 

 

He feels Levi raise an eyebrow beside him, but he looks forward, he'll feel embarrassed about calling Levi his boyfriend later.

 

"So glad to meet you Levi," Petra says dreamily, and then she turns to Hanji and whispers, "shit, I think I am bisexual"

 

Hanji frowns at their girlfriend but turns around to greet Levi instead, "Levi.. how unexpected." 

 

Levi chuckles, "you don't look very fucking happy to see me."

 

"Wait.." Petra looks confused, "Hanji you know this hot- I mean you know Levi?" 

 

Hanji looks like they're a deer caught in the headlight as they try to come up with a suitable explanation, "Yeah, Levi and I are friends, but even I didn't know," they turn to Eren and glare at him, "that they're dating each other." 

 

Hanji is mad, _oh shit,_ Eren tries to think up of something so the serious atmosphere to dissipate but Levi beats him to that.

"Tch," Levi says, annoyed, "You look like you're going to shit yourself any second with that expression," he tips his head sideways as if he's studying them, "but, you look much more awful than you did when I saw you three months ago; I didn't think that it was possible." 

 

Hanji snorts, and they're successfully distracted, "well anyone remotely outdoors for two seconds is dirty for you, sorry for being a normal person and not a clean freak!"

 

Eren looks between Levi and Hanji and is shocked by the ease of conversation that flows between them. He turns to watch Petra to see how she is taking this in, but she is busy trying to interrupt the conversation so Levi would look at her. 

 

It was fun watching all three of them talking but Eren starts to feel a little left out, he sips his Piña Colada in silence before feeling a smooth hand intertwine with his own under the table. Eren smiles as he squeezes Levi's hand back, silently thanking him for his support, and because of that he feels renewed with energy, and thinks he can make through this date. 

 

"So Eren," Petra asks curiously," how did you and Levi meet?" 

 

 _Oh shit._ He didn't expect that question. Fuck, fuck, _fuck_.

 

"Er..." Eren begins, scrambling to come up with some excuse, "at Walmart."

He hears Levi snort beside him and mentally slaps himself. Walmart? _Really_? Of all things he could have come up with, Walmart is the excuse that escaped his mouth? His cheeks start to redden, as the couple on the other side frowns, and he wishes the ground would just open up and swallow him. 

Unfortunately, that doesn't happen.

 

"Walmart.." Petra looks confused, "well how..did you guys get together?" 

 

Levi smiles and he takes over before Eren can sprout more bullshit, "Eren is a teenager after all, and he was in the Harlequin section surfing through porn. I happened to pass by and give him excellent suggestions on what to buy." 

 

Eren chokes on his Piña Colada, "that did not happen!" 

 

"It did not?" Levi asks coolly, "then what happened?" 

 

Fuck, Eren was stuck, he cannot possibly change the setting of the story anymore or Petra would be suspicious. So what was he supposed to say?

 

"Er.. I was looking for this Marvel graphic novel and Levi happened to pass by and started telling me what erotica I should buy," then Eren smiles slyly, "and I told him that I was a good kid and I was just browsing through comics and such. Levi had been so sad at that, cause he was itching to give porn sugge-aah" Eren shrieks as Levi twists his hand.

 

"You little shit," he growls.

 

"Fuck you" 

 

Petra giggles, and Hanji joins in, and the arguing couple turn around and stare at the other couple laughing. 

"You guys fight like an old married couple, don't you think Hanji? " Petra comments and Hanji nods, snickering.

 

Levi opens his mouth to reply sarcastically when his phone goes off, he curses as he takes it out and looks at the caller ID before taking the call. Eren watches in confusion as Levi's face darkens considerably as he hears the speaker at the other end talk, before rolling his eyes and quickly getting up and excusing himself. He walks away briskly towards his car but Eren can still hear him talking about some business deal gone wrong. _Business_. Eren sighs in defeat.  

 

"What does he do?" Petra asks curiously as she looks at Levi pacing by the Lamborghini Aventador furiously.

 

 _Million dollar question_ "He's a marketing executive" Eren comments nonchalantly.

 

Petra nods slowly, before she quickly turns to Eren and her eyes widen, "He's not Levi Ackerman, is he?" 

 

"Yeah he is," Hanji murmurs quietly at their girlfriend.

 

Petra gasps and turns to Hanji and growls, "Hanji you sly fox! You didn't tell me you're friends with THE Levi Ackerman! And Eren? Damn how did you score that?" 

 

 _I didn't_ , "fate happened," he says softly.

 

Petra doesn't ask anything else but her mind is running, fortunately Hanji is there, they distract her sufficiently and Eren watches them talk when he feels someone stand behind his seat.

He already knows who it is without turning around. 

 

Eren turns to face his boyfriend, maybe it was the trick of the shade but Levi was looking more exhausted than he had been minutes ago, "what's wrong?" He asks softly.

 

"Business deal gone awry," Levi growls, "those bastards completely blew away our product and the investors aren't so sure anymore," he looks at Eren, silver eyes glimmering with annoyance "I have to leave for Trost immediately, and make sure that this deal goes through." 

 

Eren doesn't know what to feel, but it is dangerously in the angry territory. He knows Levi is busy with his work, but having his date interrupted like that? It was embarrassing! And not to mention Levi was leaving him, again.

 

Eren gets up and excuses himself before walking away, Levi follows him and they both stop under a spot in the bistro with sufficient privacy. 

 

"Eren-" Levi begins but Eren stops him,

 

"Just go! Leave me here to deal with the double date!" He says angrily. He knows it is not fair on Levi because he cannot do anything about it. But how can Eren be calm when Levi is letting his business and private life merge like this?

 

"Eren, I know I wanted to come on this fucking date and I really didn't think some idiots could actually mess this up," he sighs, "I will make it up to you, but this is going to happen in the future too, Eren. You need to get used to it" 

 

Eren sighs, remembering how Levi had once told him how he was more important than his work. _Yeah that showed._ He nods instead and Levi smiles tightly. 

 

"I'll see you soon, my jewel." Levi whispers, before he leans in and kisses Eren, the breeze blows and Eren can smell the expensive cologne on his boyfriend, but it is so Levi that it calms him down a bit. He kisses Levi back but before it can escalate, Levi pulls back. He squeezes Eren's hand one last time before turning around and walking away where his car is.

 

Eren watches the man enter his car, and his heart jumps before it sinks as he sees the car drive away, but it is not only melancholy of the heart, his gut is warning him about something is seriously wrong. He waits till the car is out of the eyesight before turning away. He starts to feel dizzy, and thinks he is going to be sick. 

 

He feels like he is overreacting but his instincts never lie. They've always told him the truth. 

 

And they were telling him something which he knew, deep down in his heart: 

 

Something terrible is going to happen.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song for Eren and Levi for this fic is definitely Powerful by Major Lazer 
> 
> And Eren's song for Levi is definitely Talking body by Tove Lo
> 
> ***
> 
> Okay I'm just gonna say that no, Levi doesn't get hurt nor does Eren, so there isn't going to be confessions in hospitals about how desperately in love they are. I can do it, but that's cliché. There's a reason why I put in a dark tag after all.. Both of them are safe but oh boy, the plot thickens!!


	15. The gold bull

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi is back from Maria but his plans to get back to Eren are slightly interrupted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise, surprise, surprise!! Levi POV, YAY! !
> 
> This guy is so difficult to write, but hey, you murderous people will like this one.
> 
> Ps: I messed up the language just a wee bit because the mechanic is uneducated

Levi tries to calm down his anger as he walks in the reception area from the conference room. His workplace was mainly made of glass, walls and the floors were stark white tiles. Each square had been cleaned religiously ahead of Levi's scheduled arrival. 

 

He can see his face when he looks down and an exhausted face is reflected back. This deal has made him tired both inside and out. 

 

The meeting went on for a long time and it had been Levi's manipulative skills that finally put the investors mind at ease about the product and they finally gave the deal a go. Levi smiles at the investors calmly, while rejoicing inwardly at the fact that his hard work was saved; ofcourse he fires the people who almost messed up the deal because of their inexperience, and had it been up to him, he would have done worse than just letting them off their jobs.

 

He never killed for any other reason than being possessive, but he feels like he should make an exception this one time. The workers are lucky that this deal is so important and humongous that it is covered by the media, or else Levi would have definitely come up with some way to end his interns' lives without attention.

 

He makes his way out to a sunny day in Trost, and looks around the place. There are expensive cafes and bars dotted all around the block. It was expected from Trost, most of the richest and influential people lived here, and Levi doesn't think there is a single house that is less than five million dollars in the city. He likes Trost, it's well maintained and the people have class, like they're aristocrats thriving on money. The place was neatly maintained with trimmed grass and marble sculptures adorning the parks, and glass buildings making up the workplaces. He can see the people working inside diligently, and thinks how he cannot have this in Sina or Maria, and it is for these reasons he wants Eren here.

 

Eren deserves a king's life, he deserves to walk down in Levi's million dollar house wearing expensive clothing, or if Levi had his way, nothing at all. Those jewel eyes of his were enough to adorn his beautiful body. It makes him almost moan at the thought of coming back from his work and to his house, knowing that Eren is waiting for him, all prepped up and ready for him. _Only him._

 

His possessiveness flares as he thinks of his jewel alone in Maria right now. Ofcourse he trusted Hanji to take care of him, but they cannot watch Eren the whole day. And looking after Eren was Levi's job alone, he was his precious property, how can Levi leave him alone like that? 

 

He thinks of Eren's sweet smile, sparkling eyes, and his beautiful face, and the idea of some scum in Maria looking at him right now and wanting to make Eren theirs, almost drives Levi mad. The fact that his jewel was on display for anyone who wants him makes him clench his fist tightly and he takes his phone out to book the fastest flight back to Maria. He may love Trost, but there was nothing Levi loved more than Eren. 

 

And he needs to be where his home is.

 

***

 

The duration of flight takes longer than expected, but Levi knows that the plane was on time, it was his nerves that made the time go slower. The thought of being back with Eren made him like this, he hasn't seen the boy in three days after all. Levi misses him so much. He misses his aura, misses his enthusiasm, misses him panting and moaning under him, he just plain misses Eren. 

 

After the flight lands, Levi makes his way through the airport briskly, he sees the setting sun through the skylights and sighs, Maria somehow has harsher sun than Trost and it's just another reason why Trost is simply better. 

 

He doesn't have any business left over in this city anymore, all he needs is Eren in his place back home, and he'll never be back here again. And he has gone along with the boy's wishes so far, watching him go from hate to almost loving when it came to Levi. Ofcourse there is nothing more than he loves to have his feelings reciprocated, but at the end he will force Eren to move in with him if the boy resists. Enough is enough, he likes that Eren loves his demeanor and personality the way it is, but he cannot deny his darker side's need for Eren. It is consuming him, making him go mad. Eren, Eren, _Eren_. He is all Levi thinks about. 

Eren in his house.

Eren writhing against his bed, moaning and panting.

Eren with him.

 _Eren_. 

 

He leaves for the parking lot where he has his Lamborghini Aventador parked, and he's glad to see that the car is looking clean under the harsh sun. He doesn't have the patience to be mad or murderous right now, and he doesn't want to spend his energy on it, and instead spend his energy fucking Eren till he breaks. And Levi will put him back together again like he had originally wanted to, and Eren will be in his arms for the whole time, and the thought makes him smile as he opens the door. 

 

"You gotta be kidding.. no," Levi pauses as he hears someone talk behind him. _Fucking obnoxious people;_ the person is talking loudly and indignantly like he cannot believe something has happened. Levi doesn't have the patience for it, and he gets in the car, but he is just about to close the door when a name he hears makes his blood freeze. 

 

"Look there ain't no murders happening, k? That means Rivaille ain't in town!" 

 

 _Rivaille_. Levi cocks his head sideways and slides down his seat and closes the door gently. His height gives him the perfect opportunity to be innocuous. He really doesn't care if someone talks about him since that is his objective. The more people talk about him the more they will stay away from his things, but Levi is a master in body language and the tone of the man speaking behind his car is telling him that this is a conversation he shouldn't miss. 

 

"Look, Rivaille killed my brother! He was the fucking gang leader and he fucking killed him! I ain't gonna let this slide!" The man's voice rises and reaches to an angry crescendo. _Well wasn't this new?_ Levi had too many people behind him to care about, but this is interesting; having the brother of the slain man vowing for revenge, but which gang leader is he related to?

Levi doesn't have to think about it a lot; the only gang he touched in Maria was the one who dared to confront Eren, and he growls as he remembers how hurt his jewel was that day. So this was the brother of that miserable fuck? Levi wouldn't mind putting him to death if he wanted to. But he hasn't touched anything of his yet, and if he wants to kill Levi, then he is welcome to try. 

 

"Ya man, no I ain't stupid! Rivaille ain't in town right na... but ya know who in town? That Jaeger kid. The reason why my brother is dead!"

 

 _Ah_. There it is. Levi fixes the side view mirror till he has the perfect angle to see he man's face. He was big man, with scraggly beard, small beaded eyes and wrinkles on forehead, and he was wearing a dirty checkered sweatshirt over a torn overall. Very lumberjack, and very, very dead. 

 

Levi groans internally at the oil covering the man's arms and body like huge scars. Dirty blue overall, oil splatters, dirty unkept hair, all the signs of a low level mechanic. A mechanic and a gang leader, Hm, the family wasn't that well off this meant, so he probably lives in the ghetto area of Maria. And Levi casually opens up Google maps on his phone, looking around for fields or abandoned places near the targeted area. 

 

"Look man, I gotta make Rivaille suffer. That Jaeger kid has to die, i'm gonna make sure of that. The gang members have agreed cuz they want this too. K?  K. I'll see ya later, man." He keeps the phone down with that. Levi sees the phone disappear in his pocket and he gets out of his car, and casually strolls around the car, and sighs loudly. 

 

"Fuck," he groans, "this car had to fucking break right now, didn't it?" 

 

He makes his voice sound whiny and annoying, like a rich suburban mom's. Those were the type of people anyone considers to be automatically shallow, and vile, and this man wouldn't suspect a thing. He'll get manipulated the way Levi wants him to see him- a rich, spoiled man, and not a cold calculated killer.

 

"Excuse me," Levi hears the voice say behind him. 

 

 _Bingo._  

 

"Yes?" He says in irritation, and turns around to face the man. The man blinks and Levi sees the annoyance in his face at Levi's arrogant attitude, but Levi is right, if the mechanic was richer, then he would have ignored Levi and walked by the potential customer, but then again if his brother was a gang leader then there wasn't much guessing required in the first place.

 

"I am a mechanic, I can look at your car." The mechanic offers with a tight smile, and Levi sighs loudly in relief.

 

"Thank fucking god," he says, "I need to be at my meeting, asap." 

 

The man nods and takes his tool belt out, "I can look at the car but me has a fixed rate."

 

"Whatever," Levi props his hip on the car, and sees the man look over him appreciatively, _fucking gross,_ "do it quick. My dad doesn't like to be kept waiting." 

 

The man jerks up at the snarky tone and grumbles as he walks around the car to the front. Levi walks around him and watches him work. He is strong physically and Levi sees him looking around the inside of the car with a practiced ease. He's been long in this business. 

 

"Everythin' seems okay," he says, "nothin' wrong." 

 

"It wasn't working a fucking minute ago," Levi grimaces, "must be time for servicing. Fuck, my dad is not going to be happy." 

 

"Well, m' garage is near tha end of Marian brook, I can service the car there." The man pulls back and turns in time to see Levi nod.

 

"Well there is no point of having this stupid car, break down again. Lead the way." 

 

*

 

Levi tails a huge rusted truck on the highway, the mechanic is driving away from the main city and towards the sparse ghetto area of Maria. Levi snorts at the overgrown weed taking over the fields and he can see crumbled buildings at rare intervals, he passes by broken roads and tall grass when the truck ahead takes a sharp turn right; they drive off the highway on a muddy trail. Levi internally cringes whenever the car hits the potholes and groans at the idea of coming back in this dirt to finish this man off, but he knows he will do what he has to. He watches the man park the truck near a shabby but huge building at the end of the trail, and Levi can see broken cars littering around a huge empty ground, and there is a junkyard farther ahead before the forest starts.

 

The mechanic gets out and walks towards where Levi is, and he lowers the car window before the man can knock his dirty knuckles against it. 

 

"Take car to entrance," the man gestures at the building, "an' drive in slowly till ya see a ramp. Drive car on it, an' I'll service it." 

 

Levi nods and slowly drives the car where the man wants it to be. He studies the building, it was like a huge tarmac which had a wide open entrance; one side of the vast space was covered by a rusty steel ramp, where his car was supposed to go, a forklift was parked there, and assorted tools were lying around toolboxes beside its wheels. There was a car hanging haphazardly by a small crane nearby and Levi wrinkles at the dirty scene. He rolls down the window and takes in a whiff of the air. _Oil_. Classic smell of a garage. 

 

Levi drives the car up the slope of the ramp and stops the car on the flat part. It's a steely structure and not very high, and he steps out and his shoes clink on the bars. Levi looks around at the crane and the forklift, the potential murder weapons perfect for impaling. 

 

 _No_ , he doesn't like it, larger the weapon the easier the escape, not to mention he was plotting the death of a person in his familiar niche. The man knew the best defence weapons and places where he'll have the best advantage incase he needs it. So Levi has to think of something else. 

 

"Aight," the mechanic gestures around the place, he walks in and goes to the side of the entrance to hang his shirt, leaving him in a torn overall, which is surprisingly more dirty and torn than the checkered shirt, "I'm gonna see ya car, an' you can do whateva ya want." 

 

Levi smiles and jumps down the ramp, and his landing is graceful but he stumbles on purpose, letting the man chuckle behind him. Levi smiles along. Now the man saw him as clumsy, more vulnerable.

 

Less threat. 

 

He watches the man service the Lamborghini Aventador, and Levi knows for a fact his car is in perfect condition. He services it frequently, and maintains it. It is his property after all.

 

"So," the man began after sometime, "Watcha do?" 

 

Levi is still watching the man when he answers, "I work at my dad's company," he says with a hint of pride in his tone. 

 

He hears the man mutter ' _spoiled kid'_  before asking again, "and watcha your dad do?" 

 

"Sculptures," he answers back nonchalantly, the tools the man was using to service the car were perfect murder weapons, but he doesn't like any of them. These tools were more for defence than offense. 

 

He scrutinizes the crane again, and its wickedly glinting hook, _Hm,_ he needs to improvis-

 

"Sculptures?" The man scoffs, "what kinda sculptures?" 

 

"Hm," Levi thinks out loud, "well sculptures, statues of kinds. Marble..plastic..metal.." he smiles as a plan begins to form in his mind. 

 

"That look like good business," the man says gruffly, "statues an' all, how much you sell them for?" 

 

"Some can sell up for millions, " Levi says thoughtfully, "depends on the person or the company buying." 

 

"What you sell most?" The man pulls back from the car and jumps down the ramp, and searches through the toolbox, Levi steps away from the sound of metal clanking against the red box. 

 

"Statues mostly, people like to buy sculptures with spacious area inside them. To store stuff, hopefully." 

 

"Hopefully? " the man laughs as gets up and he wipes his hands on his shirt, "how much can ya store in them statues?" 

 

"Depends on the design," Levi says as he takes his wallet out and hands crisp 100 dollar bill to the man, "sometimes you can store up to small items, and other times," Levi pauses and smiles softly, "other times they're huge enough to store dead bodies."

 

 ***

 

Levi walks back to his penthouse in Maria and looks at his phone, the background picture is of Eren's sleeping face, which he had taken the first night he had claimed the boy, and Levi smiles at it. Eren looks so peaceful and sweet, his eyelashes fanned his high cheeks and his lips were parted in sleep, and those luscious locks of his framed that beautiful face perfectly. He is really the most precious thing Levi has ever seen, and he is all his. 

He checks the cameras feed and finds Eren sleeping, it is afternoon and he sees an open packet of snacks lying around the bed. _Fucking gross._ But Levi doesn't care, all he wants to do is walk up to the boy, pick him up and vanish from Maria, but he needs to make sure that he is safe. That was the priority right now. 

 

He sighs and opens up the phonebook instead, and searches for one of his many contacts in the underworld that owed him favours. Levi dials the number of the contact he is looking for, and the second a ring goes through the phone is picked up by a breathless person.

 

"Rivai-" the man begins in fear, but Levi doesn't wait for greeting, he doesn't care for stuttering greetings right now.

 

"Listen," Levi says seriously,  "I need a bronze statue with a strong latch as soon as possible." 

 

"Wh-hat?" The man stutters in shock.

 

"Have your ears turned shit finally? I need a fucking statue, quick, unless you want to say goodbye to your useless life."

 

The man whimpers, "please let me live, I'll see what I can do. Give me the measurements and the vision you wa-want for the statue." 

 

"Now we're fucking talking," Levi smiles and narrates the measurement and the small details he requires in it. 

 

"And shape?" The man asks timidly in the end.

 

"It should look like a bull." 

 

***

 

It is after three days that he hires a truck to carry the magnificent bull statue in the back, and he adds stacks of wood logs along the gold coloured bronze bull. He watches it with a sad sigh, the thing really is pretty. 

He can order another one to adorn his house back in Trost, or hotel Liberté, shame this one will have to go to a waste. 

 

He makes sure that everything is fine and checks to see if his exact order is followed through. Bronze? Check, strong latch to close the bottom? Check, a long crack on the back leg of the bull? Check. 

 

 _Perfect_. 

 

He closes the back of the truck and walks around to the front seat when his phone rings, he doesn't look at the screen as he clicks his tongue in annoyance at the interruption.

 

"What?" He says irritated as he picks up the phone.

 

"Hey" A voice replies.

 

Levi's features soften, "my jewel," he says softly.

 

"Where are you Levi?" Eren asks him, his voice is so beautiful and clear, and Levi smiles at it.

 

"Out, doing business," He murmurs, "what's wrong?" 

 

"I.." Eren whispers, "just missing you, so I thought I.. should call up, but here's the thing, I've been grounded, and all my electronics have been taken up away so I won't be able to talk to you. I... just come back soon," he begs.

 

Levi feels warm all over at his precious jewel asking for him to come back, Levi imagines Eren is sitting on his bed, twisting his legs in the bedsheets and sighing unhappily at the thought of him being away. And he feels happy inside for the first time since he had last seen the boy. 

 

"Uh..." the boy says softly, "my parents are here. Shit I gotta go. I.. miss you. Bye." Eren keeps the phone down immediately and Levi puts the phone down too. Oh how he wishes that this idiot mechanic hadn't decided to be all vengeful over his most important possession, and puts his phone in his back pocket before getting in the truck and starting the engine, and heads for the ghetto area of Maria for the last time. 

 

*

 

It takes him two hours to pinpoint where the area is in the dark. There isn't fucking light off the highway and since the junkyard and the forest were the only things accompanying the building, there wasn't any way to pinpoint the location. Levi has to drive around a bit before he spots the minuscule white light off the road.

He switches his headlights off and drives towards the destination. The rumble of the truck on the muddy trail alerts the mechanic and Levi sees the man standing by the main opening curiously when he parks the truck in front of him.

 

"It you," the man says, shocked, as Levi swings out of the truck with a deadly grace.

 

"It's me," Levi confirms, as he goes around and opens the back of the truck. 

 

"Watcha doin' here?" The man asks gruffly and Levi turns to him with annoyance.

 

"I have to deliver this important bull statue to this fucking building but the idiot delivering it messed it up. My dad wants it fixed or it is going to be real shitty dealing with him." 

 

He can see the man looking like he is pissed off by the rich, spoiled guy aura he has, but it is the part of the elaborate plan. By now if the mechanic has talked about him to the other gang members, then they must have heard about a snotty, entitled guy who is very annoying. No one will suspect that, that person is Levi right away if they decide to go to the police. 

 

"Well? How can I help ye?" The man asks, confused. 

 

"It's bronze," Levi explains as he donnes on his gloves, "has tiny scar on the back leg that needs welding, it's small but the company ordering it is important so it needs to be perfect. You get paid three thousand dollars if you pull it off." 

 

He can almost see the drool at the thought of the money in the eyes of the mechanic, and Levi gestures at the bull and the man walks to study the structure, and his eyes widen at the humongous statue.

 

"Wow.." he trails off, but then looks down to see the scar on the bull, it was a tiny blemish that was the only imperfection on the smooth bronze. Nothing big of a deal, but he is getting a shit load of money for it. So who is he to complain?

 

The mechanic asks Levi to back the truck inside the building, and he nods. The second the truck is in, the man gets the forklift to lower the bull inside. It is huge and heavy, but the impressive structure is lowered down on the ramp safely. The same ramp where Levi's car had been three days ago. 

 

"This is impressive.." the man mumbles as he gets up on the ramp and runs his hand over the abrasion, the only thing that marred the otherwise perfect structure. 

 

"Ofcourse it is, the company paid a shit ton for this to be made," Levi watches the mechanic carefully, and starts to walk towards the metal structure. 

 

"Why a bull, eh?" The mechanic pulls back and looks over at Levi.

 

"How the fuck am I supposed to know that?" Levi asks, irritated, "all I know is that this thing has enough space to store three bodies." 

 

The mechanic raises an unruly eyebrow, and he scoffs, "this thing is massive but there ain't no way that it fit three bodies there. One, sure, but no three." 

 

"And who are you to criticize my dad's company's work, huh? A low level mechanic like you doesn't know shit about a company that does real work unlike you. Try it out, and if you prove me wrong, I'll pay you extra three hundred bucks, " Levi rolls his eyes at the man.

 

Anger flashes in the man's black eyes at the insult, and the idea of making Levi embarrassed and getting more money on top of that is what makes the mechanic shake his head and take on the challenge. Levi walks up the ramp as he watches the man open the latch underneath the bull's stomach. He cranes his neck in and mutters something about being correct, before climbing inside to prove Levi that he is wrong. Levi reaches the bull just as the man's body disappears inside.

 

"What an idiot," Levi shakes his head as he leans down and closes the latch, and locks it.

 

The mechanic was, infact, right. The bull can only store one body at a time.

Levi hears thumping on the walls of the metal bull almost immediately as he locks the latch before the man can push it open. He turns away from the frantic screaming and shouting, and jumps down the ramp. He heads over to the end of the building where he is suspicious the smell of oil is coming from. Ah _oil_. The substance that burns so easily, and readily available in garages, and that is all he really needs. He finds barrels upon barrels stacked up against each other, and leaded petrol in small plastic bottles lined up. Levi stares at the green liquid and smiles. _Perfect_. 

 

He heads back towards the screaming and crying, and kicking inside the bull, but the structure doesn't budge from its place on the ramp, and Levi gets some of the logs from the truck, and places them under the ramp. 

Then he pushes an oil barrel out towards the bull, and pours the black liquid over the logs. After making sure the bull is directly above the makeshift firepit, he lights it up on fire. 

 

He makes sure the wood is slightly wet so the logs wouldn't burn through quick, and Levi watches the flames rise higher because of the oil. The bright blaze licks on the metal ramp, and then touches the legs of the bull. He hears the painful screams as the bronze starts to heat up, and turns away to pour oil all over the place. It would mask his footprints when this place burns up, and he is already wearing gloves to cover his traces. There will be no sign of his presence by the time this place is discovered. 

 

He hears a strangled scream and turns around to see the flames engulfing the bull, the gold structure looks eerie in the fire and Levi can see that it is heating up slowly. It will take time for it to burn through but that is the beauty of this structure. The man will cook inside, slowly and painfully. 

 

He hears the thumps and painful screams of the roasting man, and walks over as near as he can to the fire, he feels the heat on his face and he starts to sweat, it had gotten strong in such a short while.

 

"You know why I chose this method to kill you?" Levi shouts, and he hears the screams and shouts of agony with renewed vigor as the mechanic realizes that someone is there who can save his life, or maybe thinks that his shouts would probably attract someone else's attention. How cute.

 

"After the tortured person dies, his bones come out so polished that they're worn as _jewels_ ," he smiles, knowing that the man can't listen to him over his painful death, "this is for you for even thinking of hurting my Eren. Enjoy your death." 

 

Levi watches the flame lick the bronze bull for one last time before he goes back and hacks the barrels and lets the oil spill over the floor, he lights up the fire lighter and throws in the black substance.

 

He gets in the truck lightening quick and drives away before the flames reach the other unopened, stacked up barrels of oil. 

 

*

 

The deadly fire is so strong that it razes the old structure to the ground and reaches the nearby trees. The forest management department is alerted first and soon the place is crawling over with police cars and firetrucks alike. Now his truck's tire prints were also covered. Levi smiles at the scene as he watches from a distance, before turning and walking away. One down, the rest of the gang to go.

 

And Levi smiles wider at the thought of making the place safe for his jewel again, and the beast roars inside him with joy at the idea of bloodlust. 

 

Rivaille is back, and he is more revengeful than ever.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI the brazen bull is a real thing. It used to exist centuries ago, and the procedure was fairly simple: you locked the person inside the bull and then lit it on fire. It burned slowly but the person died of suffocation and heat. It is said that the bones of the person tortured were so polished that they were worn as bracelets.  
> The reason why it is a bull structure is because the victim's tongue was usually cut off before being thrown in, and when they start to burn the screams and shouts of pain is similar to a bull's.. so yeah.
> 
> It is my favorite torture method and when I randomly picked up the occupation prompt for the mechanic man, I knew I had to write it. 
> 
> So here, somehow I managed to write about a medieval torture method! It was hard but I hope you liked it! :D


	16. Love conundrum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternatively titled: A choice with no regret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Edit:I deleted off chapter 16 like I had promised to once I update but it also deleted off those lovely comments I had once received, I am so sad right now, I wish I had known this before. I AM SORRY I DIDN'T REPLY)

How can Eren be _this_ stupid?

 

He is looking around his house in annoyance, there is nothing to do for him because he his grounded. It was really stupid, he should have expected that his dad would be out on break and would make his way to the Italian bistro for lunch, and even though he was out with people his dad knew, he still wasn't terribly pleased at the fact that Eren hadn't told either of his parents that he'll be out. Ofcourse his mom freaked out, ofcourse they grounded him like a little child; guess having a serial killer behind him gave them rights on his restrictions even though he is an adult. He sighs as he stares at the dust motes swirling around in the air, and gently blows on them to disrupted the stillness, but his annoyance makes him huff now and then and the motes go frenzy. 

 

_Atleast his dad didn't see Levi._

 

Having his parents take away his electronics and banning him from stepping out gave him time to think about a lot of stuff which have been plaguing his mind for sometime. Like how is he feeling right now, what does he think of the double date. And the most important question pestering him: how does he feel about Levi? 

 

Eren smiles automatically as his mind goes off to its happy place. Thinking about Levi was his favorite thing to do. To remember that this enigmatic man was with him, and they're dating, god,  _they're fucking dating._ It makes him feel giddy. It makes him feel so damn happy. 

 

But does having a boyfriend supposed to make him this way? Like he can't breathe if he doesn't see Levi for sometime? The feeling of emptiness that comes when he has to leave for his work? It was driving Eren crazy, one part of his mind was seeking justice for how much he suffers when Levi goes away, but it went deeper than that. Suffering from being lonely was by far, not the worst thing Levi has done. He is remembering that girl Petra had once talked about, the one that goes to therapy now because of Rivaille's call, or that mother begging for justice for the son Rivaille had killed, or the countless people unable to sleep because Rivaille felt entitled enough to take someone's life just because he feels possessive. And for what reason? How did he become like this? Levi had it all, why does he kill? There were so many mysteries surrounding this man and Eren makes it a mental note to ask all about these once Levi is back. 

 

Levi. Rivaille. _Levi. Rivaille._ Those two were same. The freakishly genius prodigy and the feared serial killer. Both wanted Eren, but Eren only wanted one. 

 

He wanted Levi. So bad that it hurt. 

 

But it wasn't this easy was it. He had to remember that Levi is a coldblooded killer. He tries to remember those exact details he had read over in the internet about him. This is so wrong, his consciousness cannot allow this, but neither can he give up. The thought of giving up on Levi was just too much. And he wonders if there is a solution to this problem.   
The answer takes long to come to him but he gets it finally: he will wait. He is going to listen to Levi's side of explanation then make his judgement on that basis.   
  
  
Eren gets up and decides to go out in the garden; the only outside place he is allowed to go to. He watches the sun shine high in the hot summer weather, and starts to feel the sweat gathering on his face and under his arms. _Gross._ He still stays outside though, determined to enjoy the fresh breeze blowing on his face and rustling the leaves on the trees as it whistles by.   
  
He can hear the cars drive past and it makes him mad to think that people were just going about their daily lives without any restrictions, without any worries, while here he was, stuck inside like a little kid! but more that that, he had been on his best behaviour these past few days no matter how mad he was. He didn't even try to sneak his phone to call in Armin or Levi. Well except that one time. Eren was sorely missing him that evening since it had been such a long time since he had talked to Levi. Eren couldn't take it in without knowing where Levi is, so he risked his freedom to call him up.

 

_Where was Levi anyways?_

 

Eren asks himself this question whenever Levi disappears off mysteriously, and although Eren knows Levi is doing his job. But what job causes him to be _this_ busy? Eren remembers when he had called Levi that evening how tense he had been sounding, like he was doing some important task. Had Eren disturbed him during a meeting? but that was unlikely, Levi wouldn't have picked up the phone if he were this busy, but he did. Eren was missing out some detail. He had to be. 

 

He squints at the sunlight, hoping somehow the answer would come to him in the light of the day, but the sun stupidly shines and so the world goes around him. He doesn't know what to do anymore; all he desperately wanted was Levi to be here with him, telling Eren that he is overreacting. Eren would be happy to hear so, but that was one part of the mind, the other one was screaming at Eren to think rationally. Levi is away, Eren needs to gather the clues and get the man behind the bars somehow. He has murdered people, and Eren is not okay with that. People are living in nightmare because of him and Eren's sense of justice is firing up, but how can he turn in the man he so cares about? 

  
  
Levi would certainly get the death penalty, and once the case is out in media Eren will be heralded as a hero. Eren wanted to save people, and this was the opportunity, besides Levi was so possessive over him, and that wasn't good, Eren has to think twice before he talks to anyone any more, but it isn't hard for him, considering that Levi generally leaves him alone when he is not in danger. 

 

So here was the dilemma. He was angry at Levi leaving him alone but would he be able to take the drastic step to turn in the man which would force Eren to live alone forever? He wouldn't be able to find someone else, that's for sure, how could one even think of getting in a relationship after being with Levi Ackerman? 

 

He goes inside then, his mind raging on two opposing thoughts, but the second he enters the cool home, it is like his mind settles. There isn't any hurry, summer is still a long to go and Eren needs to find out who Levi is first. He'll make his judgement then. Besides, Levi hasn't killed anyone recently, had he? there haven't been any news of sorts. Granted he was grounded like a little kid but his parents would have notified him if Rivaille struck again, wouldn't they? 

  
Fuck this, his parents weren't even here. They took his phone and his laptop is hidden away, but the television was still there. They wouldn't oppose to him watching news would they?   
So with dread in heart, and prayers in mind, Eren goes and switches on the tv. It is on one of those entertainment channels his mom loves to watch when she has free time, and he smiles before switching to the local news channel.   
His heart is thudding. He sees the reporter speaking.   
He swallows painfully, as he raises the volume to listen.   
It is about a B&E robbery. 

  
  
The relief he feels is insurmountable, because the murders Rivaille commit are always the breaking news; they're the top story on news channels, had something happened it would have been all over the news, and the fact it is about a robbery means nothing has happened here, he remembers those nights not long ago when he would sit with his parents glued to the tv as they watched the cases unfold over the different cities, there were never any witnesses, no evidence, all was left was a dead body, a heinous call to a poor soul and no culprit in all those cases.

  
  
Eren cannot believe that he went from fearing the dreaded man who would strike ruthlessly in the dead of night to becoming his lover. 

  
He mulls over the fact when someone knocks at the front door and Eren jumps. His parents won't be back this soon would they? He switches the tv off and goes to check who the visitor is and sighs in relief when he sees Hanji grinning at the doorway. Eren smiles and opens the door.  
  
"Kiddo!" They laugh as they barrel into Eren for a bear hug. Eren would have greeted them in return had his windpipe not being crushed by the amount of strength Hanji had. Damn they were strong.   
  
"Ha-Hanji," Eren says breathlessly as he pulls back, "Damn, how much do you work out?"   
  
"Work out? oooh," Hanji's eyes gleam, "Petra loves muscles, and ever since her latest obsession began with Levi I had to start muscle building cause I can't let grumpyface steal my girl now, can I?" 

Eren is taken aback at the nickname but smiles nevertheless, _grumpyface_ , suits him. Only Hanji could get away with calling Levi that.

"Well..uh, wait," Eren frowns suddenly, "Petra is obsessed?" _That wasn't good._ Petra shouldn't be obsessed with Levi, and while he was mostly concerned for Petra's safety, he couldn't help but remember how attractive she is. She definitely seems like the type who would look beautiful in pearls and be the source of attention in the parties, something that is exactly the type Levi should be interested in.   
  
After all, what was he? A small town teenager with no special skills but somehow had the luck to catch the eye of the most enigmatic man he has ever known. Petra was such a better choice.

 

Hanji frowns too, "well not much, she is still very much in love with me but she asks about him now and then. It is a stupid crush, Eren. I am sure she'll get over it."

"I hope so," Eren says softly, "Petra being interested in Levi spells bad news Hanji. She shouldn't be involved."  
  
Hanji nods, and then claps their hand to dispel the serious mood, "well! silly me! I came here to take you out for lunch as an apology for getting you grounded! Come on, kiddo! I've asked your mother and she said yes! And before you say no," Hanji's eyes gleam, "I think it is time we talk about Levi again."

  
  
Eren blinks, why would he ever say no to the opportunity to go out? _god,_ he has been dying to go out! but wait, talk about Levi? Had something happened to him while Eren was grounded?   
  
"What about him!" Eren asks frantically, "is he okay?" 

 

What if, something happened to Levi while he was contemplating about their relationship here? what if Levi is hurt really badly and was in really severe pain and Eren isn't beside him to help him right now? It freaked him out, the thought of Levi being helpless and Eren not being there to comfort him. What if he is surrounded by people who have grudge against him? what if Levi is thinking where Eren is and missing him? this probably shows on his face because Hanji shakes their head quickly and say, "stop! Eren he is okay. Jeez, nothing can hurt that bastard."   
  
Eren sags in relief and Hanji chuckles, "well, that was cute. Let's go now, we need to talk." 

 

*

 

To say Hanji has something up in their mind is an understatement. They were quiet the whole way to the place they had chosen to eat. It was near the mall and Eren vaguely remembers Hanji talking about buying something for someone's birthday there. Maybe Petra's, or maybe Levi's? When the fuck was Levi's birthday even? Eren feels a sinking feeling down in his heart; he doesn't even know tiny details about the man who is his lover. 

 

He supposes he has to ask Hanji about this, but before he can say anything, Hanji begins talking on their own. 

 

"I suppose we can eat Indian, ooh I am dying for some Tandoori chicken!" 

Eren nods along and Hanji hums in contentment, "Oh!" They suddenly begin, "before I forget because of all this yummy food talk. I talked to your mom and guess what? You're gonna have your freedom back! Woo-hoo! " 

Eren is taken aback, "you talked to mom? how did you convince her?" 

Eren couldn't believe his mom had listened to someone on something. She was pretty strong headed but Hanji just laughed and said mysteriously, "my powers." 

They weren't going to divulge then Eren wouldn't ask. Besides he should he happy because he was finally getting his freedom back. He had been missing his freedom so much while being stuck inside. 

He could finally talk to Levi again and that is what excites him the most. He thinks he will die if he doesn't hear that wonderful deep voice soon. 

 

Hanji comes to a stop near the Maria Mall. The place they were eating was at a small plaza, which were full of artistic shops and different eateries specializing in different cuisines. Personally Eren wouldn't mind some pizza but Indian food was a good substitute. He loved spices, and belatedly wonders if Levi liked it too or not.

 

They get inside the Indian shop, and order the food before settling down inside a booth, the warm atmosphere and the scent of sizzling food made Eren relax a great deal, and he is glad cause he really needs it. He watches Hanji tap their fingers on the wooden table,  and settles back on the bench. The food would take some time to come and till then it looks like it will be filled with awkward silence between them. 

 

Finally Hanji sighs and looks up, "I guess I have to get it out of the way. I called you up so I could talk about Levi's past." 

Levi's past? He remembers how Hanji had once said they wouldn't talk about it cause it was only Levi's place to tell Eren. Why such sudden change of heart?

 

Hanji sighs, "I know you're wondering why I am talking about this but... I guess you need to understand the severity of the relationship between you both, and soon you have to make a decision whether or not you're going to turn him in, and as his bestfriend I want to prevent it from happening as well as help you out make the choice, kiddo." 

 

Eren digests what they say in but he is still confused, "Won't he be mad?" 

"That is what you think Eren. You need to understand. He doesn't care about things unless it is his own property. You may argue that his memories are his belongings but they're not.. his own, to describe the best. The memories are shared by people. He doesn't own them completely, the things he does need to be only his. This is why I was worried you were dating someone else, kiddo. Levi would have erased every shred of evidence of that boy's existence, because for Levi, you're his property. The most important possession he owns to be honest." 

 

Eren snorts, he doesn't like the idea of being treated as a property, till now he thought it was an endearing term Levi used to refer him but if he really thinks like he can be treated as a thing then Levi had a long lecture awaiting him. 

 

But he changes the topic instead, there was no point arguing about this with poor Hanji.

"So.." he begins hesitantly, "you wanted to talk about Levi?" 

 

Hanji looks up at him and seriousness flashes in their eyes, they try to smile to lighten up the mood but they do it halfheartedly. Eren feels like a solemn conversation is about to happen. 

 

"First.. things first," they sigh, "how are you dealing with your relationship with him?" 

 

"I'm kind of confused, Hanji," Eren confesses, "I mean I want to be with him but at the same time I cannot forget that he is a killer. My conscience is telling me that I have to stop him, stop him from killing more people, yet my heart refuses to let him go." 

 

He feels like Hanji wouldn't take him seriously but they don't say anything, instead they nod throughout, "you know," they began gravely, "when you had first asked me about Levi I could see it in your eyes that you were a person for justice. You want to save people, want to save humanity. And it is your passion and fire that drew Levi close to you, and his calm aura and personality is what draws _you_ to him. You both compliment each other perfectly, and I really am sorry you're going through this, kiddo, but I'll try to help you out." 

 

Eren digests Hanji's words and couldn't help but agree. Levi complemented him perfectly and they both were like two pieces of puzzles. They fit perfectly. 

 

And Eren was thinking about giving that connection up. 

 

He changes the topic, "You know. I never really asked why you agreed so easily to help me catch Levi, Hanji. Even though he is your bestfriend." 

 

Eren hears the cook barking orders and he vaguely realizes it was the food they had ordered. He was really hungry, but curiousity took over his thoughts.

 

Hanji frowns, "The reason I agreed so easily was that I was hoping you'd fall in love with Levi and not turn him in," they survey Eren, brown eyes looking at him calculating," Although I never expected that you'd want to turn him in even after being head over heels in love with him." 

 

Something tingles down Eren's chest, but he refused to acknowledge it, "I am not in love with him!" He gasps. And some people turn around and frown at his loud voice, and he forces himself to calm down.

He is not in love with Levi. He can't be! It is just that his skin tingles whenever he thinks about him. The date under the starry sky, him being so understanding and close. They all meant nothing, it took more than one summer to fall for someone, didn't it? 

 

He is not in love. That was ridiculous. He couldn't fall for someone who is a serial killer who has killed so many people in cold blood. 

 

Yet.. 

 

No.

 

Hanji looks at him with pity in their eyes, "Okay kiddo, let's talk about something else- ah food! I was dying of hunger!" 

 

Hanji looks up excitedly as the server approaches them with their hot food. Eren is glad at the distraction from the heavy topic and he watches as the server keeps the food down and Hanji grabs a plate excitedly, and then they begin to pile it up. Eren is worried that he isn't going to get anything and his stomach poorly grumbles in protest, but Hanji backs off after sometime and thankfully leave plenty for him, which he takes gratefully.

 

He chews on a chicken leg thoughtfully and Hanji asks, "It is going to be a long night, but do you know anything about Levi?" 

 

Eren shakes his head and he feels anger stirring inside him again. He was reminded yet again how less he knows about Levi. 

 

Hanji nods, "figures. He doesn't talk about it. Okay kiddo, let's start from the beginning. Levi doesn't have parents, his mom died and I don't know about his dad, all I remember is that I have never seen him. He was an orphan who lived on the streets and sometimes came out to play with his other friends with me.

He was always short and grumpy looking but wasn't he perfect at every single thing he did. He was too good at the things he did, and I think I had asked him how he managed to do it once out of curiousity, and he had said 'I practise daily, you dumb shit' that is how our friendship began." 

 

Hanji looks over at Eren who is absorbing each word greedily, finally he was learning about Levi's past, one step closer to understanding this enigmatic man. 

 

"We had a relatively normal childhood, well me, atleast. Levi was in some tough shit, he had two other children he looked after, and he was like their guardian, but he was just a kid too. When we grew up, I started taking interest in forensics and Levi liked stealing money so he went into business. We ended up in the same university as he got scholarship. Surprisingly we still kept in contact everyday, but Levi's other friends followed him there too. Namely Isabel and Farlan. Isabel was this quirky girl who loved Levi like a brother and Farlan was kind of like his cousin. They were always tight knit and were known as 'the trio' throughout our uni. Levi was at his happiest at this point, he was so full of radiance and he was like you, Eren, passionate, young, ready to take on the world. So were Isabel and Farlan. They were geniuses in their own fields and they were always there for each other. I'll admit I started to feel a bit bad that I had been left out. But how could I resent those three? They were meant for each other. 

At this point we were almost out of our college and we were applying for jobs. Levi was the one to get the most prestigious job offer as expected. But he was elated. His aim was to earn money enough for all four of us to live in this big condo in the city. He had so many dreams. " 

 

Eren feels his eyes blur as Hanji's voice took over a soft, mournful cadence. He cannot help it as he remembers the dead look in Levi's eyes and his personality which was nothing like what Hanji is describing. Levi had dreams, happiness once, and the world in his hand. Then what could have happened that made him today the way he is? His heart aches for the man, and how he wishes Levi was here so he could just hold him. 

 

Hanji continues softly, "we all decided that we will celebrate his getting the job. This was a huge thing since no one got such a big offer right off the college. So we decided to go down south on a road trip. We had all our. camping stuff packed, Levi's cleaners even, but before we could leave I got a call from the MP department for an interview. It was a big deal for me but it was on the day we were supposed to depart. Levi said that we could go the very next day but I said no. It wasn't the end of the world, we could go on a trip again whenever we wanted to. I remember Isabel being the most excited about it cause it meant we all got to hang out together again. "

 

The mood grows somber and Eren shudders, he can see the sadness in Hanji's eyes, and he knows the story is coming to an end. This is it, whatever made Levi the way he is, Hanji is going to tell him now.

 

"The next thing I know Levi was calling me in dead of the night and he was screaming. I have never heard such a haunting scream in my life. He was crying, and after hours of calming him down he finally managed to tell me what happened in bits and pieces. They had encountered a drug cartel in Mexico. They wanted the trio to work for them but Levi refused and it turned bloody. 

The cartel killed Farlan and Isabel without a single thought and somehow Levi managed to escape. He didn't tell me how. But when he came back Eren, he was broken. All the smiles and laughter were gone. Levi was dead.

He went on to do his job and he became freakishly good at it. He went to live in Trost, like all the rich people did. And I came to Maria. I kept in contact with him but it breaks my heart to see him so broken. When he told me about him killing anyone who touched his things, I wasn't surprised. Levi is a man who had all and lost it. He doesn't care anymore, because he things he cared dearly for are dead now."

 

Hanji looks over at him then, "Till you came in Eren. Sounds very cliché but you do make him happy. But that's a burden too, because you make him care after he had lost it all. He'll go to hell and back to make sure he doesn't lose you too." 

 

Eren shudders, "But if I turn him in.." 

 

"I don't think a mere jail can keep him away. He has influence almost everywhere, and he can bend anyone to his will. And he will do it where it concerns you." 

 

Eren keeps quiet, and his heart flutters at the thought of finally knowing who Levi is and why he kills now. It isn't some random reason, it is just he doesn't want his heart to be broken again because he is so alone, and Eren feels awful, if he turns Levi in then he'll suffer again, to be betrayed by those he love is awful. So what should Eren do? 

His heart constricts and he looks up at Hanji taking out their phone and they check it and mutter, "Petra was supposed to text me. I hope she hasn't forgotten." 

 

They frown at the phone and keep it down before getting up, "I'm going to wash my hands, just keep an eye out on my things will ya? And," they add seriously, "It has been a long time since then, he is better now that he has you. Please, Eren, please don't break his heart." 

They turn away quickly after that and then they leave. 

 

Eren might not break Levi's heart but he feels his own breaking, poor Levi. He couldn't imagine loosing Petra, Hanji or Armin like that. He'd be broken too, and he imagines countless nights Levi must have spent crying, must have felt so lonely, must have no one to share his happy or sad moments with. And Eren almost starts to tear up again just as Hanji's phone starts to vibrate.

 

He guess he should leave it, but it must be Petra, and after hearing the story of how Levi lost his friends, he wanted nothing but to talk to Petra and say how much he loves her. 

 

He picks up the phone and almost begins to greet her when he hears a very different voice in the phone.

 

"Listen you four eyed shit," Levi grumbles, "I am busy, do not send me cat pictures whenever you feel like." 

 

Eren almost smiles in relief but hearing Levi's voice brings back memories, and in one moment he remembers the whole back story of Levi and how he hasn't seen him for so long, and he sobs out instead of greeting him and Levi pauses his tirade. 

 

"You're shitting me," he says, shocked, "how did you get their phone and why are you crying, my jewel?" 

 

Eren's lip quivers, "I'm not crying, I'm just sad." 

 

"Who hurt you?" Levi's voice is low with barely restrained fury, "Who dare-" 

 

"You." Eren cuts in, "you hurt me by not being here, be angry at yourself." 

 

Eren was barely holding his thoughts back, he wants to beg Levi to come to him and wants him to hold Eren in his arms. Just hearing his voice soothens Eren's nerves and calms him down to a great extent. He misses him so much, those piercing eyes, milky skin, amused smile, him caressing Eren's skin. His heart aches for him so bad. 

 

"I didn't know you're missing me enough to have steal Hanji's phone, not that I am complaining." His amused voice replies.

 

"I didn't steal it. Hanji took me to a restaurant to talk about stuff and they left their phone here with me." Eren explains, he looks up at the passerbys and wonder what they'd think if they knew who Eren was talking to. 

 

"Touching. What did Hanji want to talk about?" 

 

 _Oh shit_. Should he just lie? 

But what was the point, Levi would find it out one way or the another and it was better if it was from Eren than anyone else. 

 

"Kinda the reason I am sad. Hanji.. told me about your past." 

 

Eren takes in a deep breath and waits for Levi's reply, and hopes he hasn't made him mad, or worse, reminded him of those memories. He counts till ten when Levi finally replies.

 

"Oh they did now," Levi murmurs, " they weren't supposed to talk about it." 

 

 _Oh no_. "I think they wanted me to know what I am getting in..by being with you." 

"Happiness hopefully," Levi sighs, "My jewel, it was my past. I've got over it, besides, I have you to spend all my time on. I am not sad for what happened, if you're so worried. It led me to you afterall." 

 

Eren smiles softly, and something warms his heart. Levi didn't regret the past, no matter how sad it was cause he has Eren now, and the thought leaves him giddy. He's important to Levi, important enough to override his past. 

 

He says shyly, "I'm glad." But before he add anything sappy, he spies Hanji coming out of the washroom so he regretfully says goodbye and keeps the phone down and back to where it originally was, just as Hanji reaches the table. 

 

"You look happy" Hanji says suspiciously and they stare at Eren, who definitely is smiling widely.

 

"Maybe.." Eren grins at Hanji as he replays the conversation with Levi in his mind. Levi thinks he's more important than the past, more important than his friends who he spent such a long time with. And something strikes Eren. 

 

Isn't it the same with him? He'd give up everything to be with Levi. He doesn't regret meeting the man, Levi made him feel alive more than anything else. 

 

Like yin and yang, they were perfect for each other. They were meant to be together. 

 

And Eren doesn't deny himself anymore, he knows what the telltale warmth in his heart means, the automatic smiles at the thought of Levi means, the happiness at the idea of being with the man means. 

 

It means he is in love with Levi Ackerman. 

And he doesn't regret it.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.. hey. 
> 
> It was a long message so I didn't want to put it in the top. Safe to say I am back! I can't express enough how much those messages here and on Tumblr mean to me. I've been offline for so long and it was hard to write again cause the hate got to me.. I was actually going to talk about this originally before all the shit went down but here it is. 
> 
> I have depression, a very severe one. I take up the highest of med doses and have like, three psychiatrists and two doctors. Writing helps me a lot but you know what helps more? Those messages. I know each one by heart cause they mean so much to me.. you guys have no idea, because I wake up every morning feeling like I want to die and I have a message that tells me my writing is good enough and it gives me the strength to make through another day. No one is making you do it but you do. And it might not mean much but each day I make it through because of it. 
> 
> And this why the hate is hard to deal with. But I never thought I'd update after this. I didn't have the energy to type or even come up with some reply to those lovely messages I've got. So if this chapter is OOC, I am sorry. Deeply sorry. 
> 
> But I'll get back. I am back. YLIAM is back in full swing!
> 
> Haters are not going to stop me cause I have the loveliest readers in this universe. All thanks to each one of you.
> 
> (Ps: I'm tracking fic: ylisam on tumblr, and I promise I'll reply to those lovely messages soon ♡)


	17. L is for lace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veeery important chapter!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my valentine's day gift to you all.  
> I hope you all enjoy cause I spent two days on this (the largest chapter I wrote)  
> And I spent two sleepless nights over this blushing.
> 
> But as long as I'm doing something for you I'm happy. 
> 
> As usual: I'm tracking fic:YLISAM (yes it has an 's' there :D) I'll be tagging everything under that!

Eren pretends to be asleep in his bed and tries hard not to gasp out loud when he hears the door to his room open and then close softly with a click, locking the door behind the intruder. He knows it's not his mom or dad, cause it was too late in the night for it to be them. No, it was someone else. 

Someone he has been waiting for. 

 

He holds his breath as he hears the gentle thud on the floor as Levi opens up his shoes and kicks them away. It is so quiet that Eren can hear everything, or maybe he is just so tuned to the man that he can feel every fluid movement as Levi walks towards the bed. 

 

He feels Levi climb on the bed and the mattress dips where he puts his weight down. He ascends gracefully beside Eren, and as he makes his way up his fingers slide up Eren's torso, and he knows his heart is beating too fast and it is a dead giveaway that he is awake. _Damn Levi_ , he knows exactly what he was doing. His cool fingers slide under the shirt and trail over Eren's stomach and then go over his chest and sternum. Eren doesn't know what Levi is up to but he doesn't hide he is asleep anymore. He turns to lie on his back and feels Levi pull back his hand and wrap both of his arms around Eren's waist instead. Eren opens his eyes and they meet those piercing grey eyes and his heart flutters as he sees the gentle look in them.

 

"You're back," Eren smiles and he leans forward and touches his head to Levi's cool one. Levi doesn't say anything, instead he kisses Eren on his forehead, and that is enough for Eren cause the small kiss communicated more than any word could have. Levi doesn't stop there though, he leans down to kiss Eren's eyelids, the tip of his nose, and finally when Eren whines, on his lips. Eren wraps his arms around Levi's neck and pulls the man towards himself, and Levi laughs softly as Eren kisses him greedily. He gently pushes Eren on his back and fights to take over the kiss, and he wins easily cause Eren gives up control happily. 

 

"I missed you, you know," He whispers adoringly. It was one thing knowing that he was in love with this man but it was another thing to feel the burst of warmth in his heart when he sees him after what feels like an eternity. Levi pulls back and his eyes glimmer in the dark but Eren doesn't let him pull back to far away. Tonight there will be no distance between them.

 

He leans in and kisses Levi languidly; his tongue trails the man's lips and then Eren peppers small kisses all over them. He feels Levi tensing his muscles but before he can push Eren back again, Eren leans down and pecks the underside of his chin. The cool smooth skin feels good as he grazes his teeth, before leaving to bite over at the side of Levi's neck. The man realizes too late what Eren is doing and he moans beautifully as Eren sucks the skin. He works methodically over that small patch before Levi finally pulls away, his eyes shrouded with barely restrained want. 

 

"Did you leave a hickey? Fuck, Eren" Levi curses as he pulls back, and turns away from Eren and crawls over to the edge of the bed so he can see his neck in the mirror. The moonlight barely luminates the room in silver light and it isn't enough for the man to discern the state of his neck, but it is enough for Eren to see that glorious ass of his. They were literally like sculpted rounds which where sinfully covered with tight pants. God, he thinks he can run his hands over them and cup each cheek easily, and knead that smooth skin, and marr it with attention and loving kisses. 

But the silvery tranquility breaks when Levi turns around and growls, "I have a fucking meeting in a day, shit Eren, did you have to fucking do this?" 

 

Eren feels the magic break and he laughs breathlessly, he bites his lips then and looks over at Levi with hooded eyes, he lets the blatant lust be clear in his eyes and he wets his bottom lip, and slowly, inches the comforter down his stomach, showing the brown skin. Levi's eyes widen at the display, and Eren knows he is working him up, he really must look goddamn delicious cause Levi looks ready to wreck him till he cannot walk, till he forgets his own name. He wants that too, wants Levi to fuck him. But he isn't going to let him play, Eren still had questions for this man, and he'll get them before he lets Levi fuck him. 

 

"Don't tell me you don't feel like marking me up right now," he whispers seductively, "don't pretend you don't like it when I'm showing you attention, you love it. Don't you? Me, being a mess beneath you, me showering you with attention. Me baring myself for you." 

 

"What are you doing," Levi questions calmly but his body betrays his emotions. Levi's arms are tense, and he is looking at Eren like he is the prey he had been dying to get his hands on. 

Or like a person who just found the most precious jewel in the world.

 

"You wanted the hickey, didn't you? to show it off to your workers.. to show _me_ off" Eren moans as he slides his palms down over his hard dick, internally he is cursing himself, damn he will suffer the whole night now, but he does it anyway. 

He bunches the comforter in his hands and slowly slides it down till it is apparent that he has an erection, an aching need for Levi, for him to be inside Eren and making him moan. This is what finally makes Levi break his composure, and he finally turns around and makes his way over to the needy boy, eyes glinting like a predator, and Eren knows if he lets Levi get him now then Levi isn't going to let him out of the bed for a week. 

 

He waits till Levi is close enough before he modulates his voice and says indifferently, "but you know, it might be my imagination. It's okay though," with that he turns around sideways and pulls the comforter over his shoulder. He knows it is childish but he hears Levi growl in frustration anyways. 

He thinks he has won because Levi doesn't try to flip him on the back and have his way with him. Eren feels the pressing need between his legs and he knows that Levi must be suffering too. Eren wasn't half bad at foreplay, he thinks proudly. 

 

But then, Levi leans in and he whispers softly, the voice making Eren's knees go weak, "don't think I don't know that you're trying to work me up my jewel," his voice drops as he wraps his arms around Eren and pulls him to his chest. Eren lays his head on Levi's muscular arm and he feels Levi laugh devilishly as he leans in again, "Have a good night sleep my jewel, and conserve your energy. Cause you'll need it for tomorrow."  

 

With that, Levi pulls back and buries his head in Eren's neck, effectively caging him in. _Oh no,_ Eren knows he is in deep trouble now. But he doesn't mind it though, he can wait for the delicious punishment as long as he gets the answers to his questions before. 

 

***

 

Eren wakes up in the morning and he notices that he can't breathe properly. He tries to shake the immediate panic that grips him and he is glad he gets himself under control cause he slowly realizes the reason he cannot breathe is because he is being held very tightly by someone. 

Namely a very hot man who is nuzzling Eren's neck but Eren thinks he is doing it in sleep. Levi always has some quirky thing to tell him when he gets up, or he is whipping up some french dish for breakfast. And Eren's heart leaps at the prospect of seeing the man asleep, and he turns around very slowly. It is hard cause Levi is holding him, with his head buried in Eren's neck and his arms tightened around him like he is holding on for dear life. 

A thought grazes Eren's mind: _Levi never had anyone to hold like this except him._

Eren leans forward and kisses Levi on the nose. The man is sleeping peacefully, long eyelashes fan the milky skin, and Eren wish he could turn around more and just stare at Levi but the man is holding him too tightly and not to mention he was using Eren's head as his pillow. 

It was adorable. Levi sleeping softly shouldn't make Eren all warm inside, but it does. 

 

That feeling soon gets replaced when there is a knock on the door. 

 

Eren feels his heart skip a beat as he hears the sound of the impatient fist on the door. _Shit, shit, shit,_ it was his parents, _oh no._

He feels the doorknob turn but Levi had locked it when he had come in last night. He hardly has the time to exhale in relief when he hears his mom shout. 

 

"EREN! GOD, YOU KNOW HOW I HATE IT WHEN YOU LOCK THE DOOR! OPEN UP!" 

 

He belatedly realizes that the arms caging him are no longer there.

 

"EREN JAEGER! OPEN UP RIGHT NOW" 

 

"Are you going to open it, or should I?" An amused voice says beside Eren. 

 

"Oh my god, Levi! She'll know you're here! Fucking shit! She'll kill me! Shit _shit_ shit Levi!" 

 

Eren was freaking out. _Oh no,_ his mom will come in now and she'll discover Levi! And she'll definitely strike Eren dead. His heart beats louder as the pounding increases and he swings out of the bed and rushes to the door.

 

"I..I'm coming mom!" He shouts and his mom pauses for a second. He turns around to face Levi who is sitting at the bed with adorably mussed up hair from sleep. 

God he looks _so cute._

Okay it isn't the time to think about that. 

 

Eren whimpers and turns around to the door; he takes in a deep breath and counts 5 seconds before unlocking the door. He slides out of the door before his mom can see inside. 

 

She is dressed up to go to the office but she looks so mad, Eren prays to any god out there to save his soul.

 

"Mom" he says weakly.

 

However, before his mom can say anything, his dad comes out of the masters bedroom, and he has his doctor's coat hung over the crook of his arm.

"Carla, we're getting late. Oh, good morning Eren!" 

 

"Morning, dad" Eren says, still guarding the door. 

 

"Eren why did you lock the door?" His mom asks, shit she sounds really mad too. 

 

"Um. .." what should he say? _Sorry mom, I have my boyfriend over. Oh, by the way he is a serial killer._

Not good. 

"'Um' what?" She folds her hands. Carla has an extremely sweet looking face, but damn when she looked wrathful, even the strongest of men cowered before her.

 

"Carla" his dad says calmly. 

 

"No Grisha, I want to know. Eren why did you lock your door?" 

Eren looks over at his dad with panic in his eyes. He has no excuse and any second his mom would notice that Eren is guarding the door. She looks over his scared face and her eyes narrow suspiciously. 

 

"Is it.. something in your room I need to know about Eren?" His mom says calmly, and Eren feels like his stomach just dropped. 

 

"N-No" he says but it is a second to late. His mom's eyes narrow at the door and before Eren can do anything, she pushes past him and opens the door. 

Eren feels like he will faint. 

 

"Mom!" He shouts but she is already in the room. Eren expected her to start screaming any second but it doesn't come. He peeks in behind her shoulder and sees the messy bed, the comforter bunched up and thrown on the floor and no sign of Levi. 

 

"Carla are you done inspecting? We're getting late" Grisha says from behind Eren; he sounds exasperated now.

He sighs in relief. Levi must have hidden himself somewhere. 

 

"I.. wait a minute, honey. I am just coming" Carla marches further inside the room then, and Eren follows her. 

 

"Mom! There's nothing here!" He says unhappily, shit if Levi is hiding somewhere then Eren has to get his mom out of the room. 

 

"I am not stupid, Eren. What are you hiding? Is it something under the bed?" She peeks under the bed, nothing there, "or in your cupboard? "

She turns around and walks over to the cupboard. Eren tried to think desperately of someway to pull his mother back cause his closest might be small, but it was the only place that could be used as a hiding spot; so if Levi is hiding, then it had to be there. But he is too late. His mom opens up the cupboard and rummages through the clothes. Eren's heart leaps as she pulls back. 

There is no one in there.

 

"CARLA! WE'RE RUNNING LATE!" Grisha screams then, and Carla jumps.

 

"I.." she turns around awkwardly towards Eren who looks away to hide the relieved expression on his face.

"Don't lock your door." She says softly before walking past Eren and down the staircase, and Eren waits till he hears the keys jangling and the front door being opened and then locked from the outside.

 

Eren walks out of the room and into his parents' room, which faced the front street. He sees his parents enter the car and then his dad starts the car and backs it out of the driveway and drives down the street. 

 

"God," Eren sags in relief, "that was close." 

He turns around, expecting Levi to be standing there at the doorway, but there is no one there. Eren walks back to his room and softly calls out, "Levi?" 

He waits for an answer but none comes. He looks all over the house but no one is here.

He is alone.

 

***

 

Eren is cooking himself breakfast when his phone vibrates. He looks over at the caller ID and smiles; it is Hanji.

 

"Morning Kiddo!" They chirp in the phone.

 

"Morning to you, Hanji. How are you so excited so early?" It was a mystery how Hanji worked. He never knew what to expect with them. 

 

"Mornings are soo nice! oooh," Eren can't help but hear a mischievous tinkle in their voice. _Oh no,_ they were planning something. 

 

"Hanji, what are you up to?" Eren demanded. He picks the bread slices and puts them in the toaster and sets the timer. He tries to concentrate on it but Hanji is making him sloppy. 

 

"I am not up to anything.. well right now at least," they giggle and Eren frowns, "however I might have been upto something yesterday.." 

 

There it was.

 

"Hanji," Eren says tersely, "what did you do?" 

"Remember how I said I had to buy something from the Maria Mall?" Well I got distracted and bought you something... nice." 

 

Oh fuck no. 

 

"Hanji I swear to god," Eren growls, the way Hanji said 'nice' told him all he needed to know, the toaster pops the slices up and Eren puts them on the plate and slathers butter on it angrily.

 

"Whatchu gonna do about it?" They say smugly, "I left the little present in front of your main door!" 

 

Eren jerks back from the table and rushes outside, he thinks he can catch Hanji and throw the present at them but the fact that they're cackling means they're long gone. Eren keeps the phone down and opens the door. There is a small pink packet with wrapping paper stuffed inside. He picks it up and sniffs suspiciously, before bringing it in and setting it on the kitchen counter. 

He opens the packet and groans, there was satin inside it. He gingerly picks the offending piece of clothing up and he cannot fucking believe it. 

It is a black laced thigh highs with suspenders and frilly panty attached to it. The material is very soft, thin and see through.

 

God, what is Hanji trying to do?  

 

Eren scours the bag and finds a fucking choker necklace, and a lacy shirt along. He gapes at the clothing for a while, before stuffing everything in. 

 

He furiously dials Hanji's phone but no one picks up. Damn Hanji. 

 

He keeps his phone down and looks at the offensive packet. God what was the point of this? To make Levi want to fuck Eren more than he already wanted to? Scratch getting out of the bed after a week, Levi wouldn't let him out for a month if he struts around in this. This would definitely make him..go crazy. Definitely make him more cooperative with Eren.. 

Eren smiles as he stares at the packet, this would make Levi answer more of his questions without him trying to play around. He'd definitely want to get his hands on Eren after this and he'd be happy to divulge about his life more easily. 

 

Whatever Hanji's original plan was, Eren makes a little tweak in it. And he takes the delicate pieces of clothing out. They're stretchable and meant to hug his skin like a second layer. Levi will not stand a chance.

 

Bless Hanji.

 

***

 

Eren is cleaning the kitchen when he hears the back door swing open. He looks up from the island and onto the man who is standing there like he owns the place. 

 

"Fancy you gracing this place with your presence," Eren says sarcastically as he leans over to rub a smudge on the table. 

 

"Fancy you bending over the kitchen isle looking goddamn delicious" Levi whispers in a voice so sinful that it makes Eren's knees go weak. 

 

 _Focus_ Eren. 

 

"Where did you go?" He says in a conversational tone as he softly backs away. Levi will not let him go once he has Eren in his arms so he must be alert till he has his answers. 

But by the way Levi was looking at him, he has to be real quick if he wants to escape Levi.

 

"I had to get something," Levi pauses and pulls something out of his backpocket, and a shiver runs through Eren when he sees what Levi has in his hands. 

A metal handcuff. 

Eren swallows at the light glinting off the thing. It isn't one of those fancy two dollar kinky ones. These were real, the ones police used, and were damn impossible to escape through. 

 

Levi holds up the handcuff and grins darkly at Eren, "I hope you saved your energy after last night, cause I'm not stopping till you faint today." 

 

He makes his way over to Eren, who quickly dashes to the opposite direction. Levi pauses then, and cocks his head sideways at Eren, his calculating silver eyes narrowing.

 

"You really think you can keep me off you, my jewel?" He asks curiously. 

 

"I wouldn't dream of that, but I want to play a game first," he backs into a counter as he tries to resist the man. Eren feels like he well might be shouting at a wall with how much Levi was paying attention at him. Eren could see his genius brain was working on how to catch Eren and tie him up quick. God Eren had to be careful. 

One misstep and he is fucked. _Literally_.

 

"I don't have energy to play right now," Levi growls, "come here." 

With that, he lunges at where Eren is, but Eren was waiting, the second Levi makes his move, Eren runs behind the counter where Levi had been standing just a second before. _Whoa, that was quick._ Levi is smiling now, he is leaning against the kitchen island and it is a smile that spells promise of Eren not being able to walk for a long time. 

 

"Playing hard to get, are we, my jewel? Suits me fine cause when I get you," he chuckles darkly," I'm going to have a lot of fun." 

 

"No.. Levi please listen to me!" Eren begs, "hear me out then you can continue trying to catch me!" 

 

Eren needs to convince Levi because they both know that Eren cannot outrun Levi in anyway. But Levi senses the urgency in the boy's voice and his calculating gaze turns to one of curiousity. He relaxes his muscles and pulls back, indicating Eren to continue.

 

"This game..." Eren begins, "it is how it goes: I ask you a question, and if you answer.. then.. then I'll take off a piece of clothing. Your choice." 

 

Eren sees Levi raise his eyebrows as he hears Eren, he can in one heartbeat catch Eren but he doesn't, infact he smiles sensually.

 

"Didn't think you could get more precious but you did, my jewel. Fine," he unbuttons his collar of his navy blue shirt, "ask." 

 

At his command Eren nods, "when is your birthday?" 

 

Levi chuckles, "of all questions... it is on December 25th" 

 

Eren squawks at him, "no way!" He exclaims. Levi was a December baby? Moreover a Christmas baby? Christmas was the time of festive cheer and enjoyment, it is impossible that Levi is born on that day. He must be kidding!

 

Levi snorts, "oi, you mean people can't be born on 25th just because Jesus was born? Yes I was born on 25th. Now strip." 

 

Eren nods, "okay.. ok, what do you want me to take off?" 

 

Levi smiles, "your shirt." 

 

Eren unbottons his shirt nervously, while watching Levi's every move. He might not be able to predict his mood but Eren knows Levi has no self control when it comes to him. And Eren is right. Levi launches towards Eren and he squeaks before rushing to put distance between them. 

 

"Hey that wasn't fair!" Eren complains breathlessly as he watches Levi standing there, looking agitated. 

 

"You're standing there shirtless, don't tell me what is fair or not, my jewel." He growls. 

Eren nods and takes his shirt off, which he throws at Levi. Amazingly, Levi actually stops and folds the damn shirt. 

 

"Next question" he says as he puts the folded shirt on the table. 

 

"Where were you on the evening I called you up?" Eren asks softly.

 

Levi pauses and then answers nonchalantly, "doing my job." 

 

Eren frowns, "what job?" 

 

"I'd love to answer but that's another question. Now, take off your pants."

 

 _Uh oh._ Here it was. 

 

Eren makes sure the distance between them is enough cause he knows Levi is going to jump at him once Eren pulls his pants down. Damn it he had other questions too! But it was his damn fault too. 

He was wearing Hanji's gift right now, and he knows the game is over. 

 

He shimmies out of the pant slowly, not looking away from Levi. At first Levi is confused as to what Eren is wearing under the full length pant. But then his eyes widen. Eren would have loved to take a picture but his knees shake as a carnal expression takes over Levi's face. 

Eren kicks the pant away and looks up, "Hanji decided to present me this." 

 

Levi licks his lip and whispers, "bless Hanji." And that is all the warning he gives. 

 

In a flash Eren's back is against the kitchen counter and Levi is leaning over him, his expression is nothing like what Eren has ever seen. Levi looked ready to tear him apart, but his hands caresses Eren's sides so gently, like he has all the time in the world. He grabs Eren's laced clad legs and hoists them over his shoulders, and he looks over at the helpless boy beneath him.

 

"This is better than any gift I have ever unwrapped," he grins, "I hope you're ready Eren, cause I am." 

He leans forward and pulls the boy in a kiss, it is not one of those sweet kisses, but a rough one, Levi is dominating his mouth, and kissing him hard. Eren whimpers under him but Levi doesn't budge. His hands find the laced underwear and he pulls it off, very gently.

 

"We're not done with this, you're wearing this again for me" Levi says roughly, but he rips through the garter belt. The leggings don't survive against Levi's ministrations and Eren almost mourns the loss of the satin. 

 

He'll have to get another one.

 

Levi sets the panty aside and Eren whimpers as he feels the air on his cock. It rubs against Levi's pant and the rough material feels wonderful and he continues to rut against it. Levi lets him as he leans down to suck and bite all over Eren's chest, while his hands rub Eren's nipples. The sensitive nubs shoot tingles of pleasure through him whenever Levi pinches them. And he does it systematically, he sucks Eren's neck and pinches his nipples, making Eren's back arch with pleasure, this had his dick press against Levi's shirt and Eren whines at the lack of attention where he really needs. He settles back on the counter and looks at Levi pleadingly.

 

"Levi.. please," he whimpers but Levi shakes his head.

 

"What do you want, my jewel? Tell me, everything you want me to do." 

 

"I...I want," Eren stutters, "I want you to..fuck me! Please.. I can't take it anymore." 

 

"Tch, so soon? No, my love. I'm not ready to let you come right now." 

 

Levi leans in again and rubs against Eren's dick, causing heat to build up inside him; then he pulls back suddenly, smirks at Eren, and then leans down to kiss Eren's chest. He leaves butterfly kisses causing Eren to whimper but Levi doesn't notice. He pays attention to every inch of the skin he leaves kisses on, therefore moving down tortuously slow. It is driving Eren crazy with need. It felt like hours but finally he reaches Eren's needy cock and then leaves an kiss in the inner thigh. Eren whines but before he can complain Levi pulls back and then slowly leaves a kiss on Eren's slit, and then in one fluid movement, Levi takes him in his mouth. 

 

Eren chokes back a scream as Levi sucks him, his hands leave Eren's chest and Levi trails his finger down Eren's balls. He softly massages them and Eren looses it then. It is too much of sensation for him and he cums, and Levi sucks him dry.

 

Eren tries to calm his breathing as he lays back against the now warm counter, he opens his eyes when he feels his legs being lowered gently. Was this it? Levi was letting him go? But he was hard too, wasn't he? 

His gets his answers as Levi picks up the lace panty and then he reaches over and scoops him up in his arms. Eren doesn't have the energy to protest and silently watches Levi walk around with him in his arms, and pick up the handcuff. 

Then Levi turns around and carries Eren over to his room. 

 

"Mm Levi.." Eren says tiredly as Levi gracefully climbs the stairs. Eren is so sated right now. This is how he wished his life can be everyday, wrapped up in Levi's embrace. 

 

"Don't fall asleep on me," Levi chides, " we're not done yet." 

 

Eren has no clue what Levi is upto but he knows better than to protest. Levi wouldn't just listen to him and he only hopes that he'll have nothing drastic planned for him. 

 

Levi enters the room and gently sets Eren on the bed, who watches him as Levi walks around looking for something. But what? Levi is studying something, and he probably has found whatever he is looking for cause he smiles very evilly. 

He turns around to face Eren and takes the handcuff out, Eren swallows loudly as Levi nears him with it. 

"How would you prefer this?" He says as he places the handcuff on Eren's exposed knee. It is cold and hard, and Eren picks it up curiously and studies the ridges of the cuffs. Levi takes it away from him and unlocks it, and the cuffs open with a sharp sound, making Eren more nervous than he already is.

 

"Answer me," Levi commands and Eren looks up at him. He looks exactly like the first time Eren had seen him, commanding and dangerous, exactly like Rivaille. 

 

It is then it strikes Eren. He _is_ Rivaille right now. 

 

"Wh-What would I prefer?" He stutters, Levi is staring at him with piercing silver eyes and he looks sinfully sensual. 

 

Fear courses through him, so does desire, and Eren's knees go weak with need. 

 

"How should I fuck you?" Levi grins darkly as he tugs Eren's hands out and clasps the cuffs around with a resounding click. 

 

"I... I.." Eren is in loss for words. He just wanted Levi in him. Levi chides at the lack of answer and pulls at the handcuffs, making Eren stand in front of him; completely defenceless. 

 

"I want an answer, do you want me to fuck you on the bed, on your study table, or up against the wall? Or all." Levi's voice dips lower and Eren whimpers, but that is all he can answer. Levi shakes his head in disappointment.

 

"For someone with such a fiery mouth, I expected an answer my jewel. Suits me fine cause I get to decide." 

With that Levi pulls Eren towards the wall and slams him against it, all the breath is knocked out of Eren but he doesn't have a chance to recover because Levi is pressing against him. He is shorter by a head and Eren would have thought the power play is comical, but right now he is feeling way smaller than the man pressing against him. 

 

Levi brings Eren's now handcuffed hands over his neck, leaving Eren trapped. Levi hoists his legs up again around his waist, and Eren wraps them tightly and whines at the contact between his dick and the rough clothing. Damn it, he feels himself hardening painfully. 

 

"Tch, so impatient," Levi smiles, and lets his hands roam over Eren's flat stomach. He traces the curves of the waist and admonishes him gently when Eren whines and tries to move, to do anything to rub his cock against Levi.

 

Levi doesn't allow him though, he presses against Eren tightly, so Eren is successfully trapped, and uses his hands to pull at Eren's hair instead, eliciting a moan from the boy. He pulls at the hair and grabs those strands and pulls him to his lips. They kiss hungrily like they've never kissed before, the distance between them is so close that Eren can feel the buttons of Levi's shirt dig in his skin, but it is still not enough. He wants the man near him. 

He wants Levi inside him. 

 

He tries to move his hands but to no avail, Levi was in control right now. He whimpers and begs but Levi isn't relenting, he continues to kiss Eren till Eren feels his lips bruise, till Eren cannot discern where Levi's mouth begins and his ends. He thinks the kiss is the way Levi trying to desperately convey how he hates being away from Eren, and he feels himself forgive the man, not that he has any choice, Levi has taken over his body, soul and mind, he was like a puppet in the hands of this guy. And he didn't mind. 

 

At last Levi pulls back, only a thin trail of saliva connected them now. Eren is breathing hard as he gulps in the breaths; he looks at Levi who looks slightly messed up, but damn immaculate as usual. 

What did it take to mess this man up?

 

Levi pulls his hands away from Eren's hair and trails them down his side. The skin tenses wherever his cool fingers contact his heated skin, and he adjusts Eren before the boy hears him unbuttoning his pants. 

His heart jumps, finally, finally Levi was going to fuck him, and the anticipation and the neediness is driving him mad.

 

"Look at you all messed up," Levi says gruffly, "all messed up for me. You were right last night. You begging for me is something I damn like," Levi rummages through his back pocket and takes out a vial, "and I will make sure you'll beg for me for the whole eternity, my jewel" 

 

Eren groans as Levi moves against him as he pushes his pants away, but he doesn't have a chance to complain as he watches greedily as Levi unscrews the lid and pours the translucent liquid in his palm. It glistens in the daylight, and Eren watches mesmerized as Levi's hands disappear from his vision. 

He doesn't have to wonder where it went cause he feels the cool liquid at his entrance. He jumps as he feels Levi's finger massage the skin around his hole. Eren tries to struggle, not moving is killing him because goddamn Levi is being a tease as usual. But he cannot even budge an inch because of how tightly he is being held.

 

"Levi please" Eren begs and Levi relents, and he feels one finger trace the muscles around the hole, spreading more lube, and then without a warning, he pushes the finger in. 

 

Eren whimpers at the burning sensation, but be doesn't complain because he knows once Levi finds the prostate he will forget the discomfort. He already feels Levi stretching him and another finger joins in the sweet torture. Levi's other hand reaches behind to cup Eren's butt and he begins to massage it, as much as he could do with Eren being pressed against the wall. The sensation is too much and Eren doesn't think he can hold back his orgasm long. He had already been stimulated in the kitchen, but he knows Levi isn't going to stop even then. 

 

He opens his eyes and finds Levi is staring at him, those eyes are surprisingly gentle. His mouth is curving in a smile and Eren finds one good use of those handcuffs. 

He uses them to pull Levi back to his lips. 

 

They kiss softly, and Eren accidently ends up biting Levi's lip as the man enters another finger in him. Levi ends up groaning and Eren smiles against him. 

 

Levi pulls back, "ready?" He looks over Eren, hunger flashing in his eyes now.

 

Eren nods. 

 

Levi isn't searching for the spot inside him, instead he is just focused on stretching Eren. Eren waits desperately as Levi tangles his tongue with his. And then, in one fluid movement he pulls out his fingers, and lifts Eren higher without breaking the kiss. 

 

And then he positions himself and Eren feels Levi tense before he pulls Eren down in him. 

 

Eren's scream gets muffled by the kiss and Levi pulls his fingers away, and instead wraps them around Eren's neglected cock. He slides the fingers up and down while slamming into him. It doesn't take him long till he finds Eren's prostrate, and it leaves him in a moaning mess. 

 

Too much is going for him, Levi is kissing him senselessly, his fingers is working skillfully on his dick and he is thrusting inside him with precision, it was too much and he doesn't last long, and he is coming as Levi gives a powerful thrust. Levi continues to thrust in even then.

 

He wasnt even done by far, and he continues to to pull back, almost to the tip, then push in till he is buried to the hilt. Eren feels his legs weaken as the thrusts grow harder and faster, and Levi wraps his hands around his legs and pulls Eren tighter. 

He continues to thrust in and Eren cries out, and soon he feels Levi shudder and he finally comes inside him. He holds Eren for second to catch his breath before pulling out; Eren feels the semen drip down his legs but he can't care cause he is too tired. Levi pulls Eren's cuffed hands over till they're front of him and he sees the red marks where the cuffs dug into his skin. 

 

"Are you done already?" Levi whispers as he carries Eren to the bed. Eren tries to say yes but he ends up mumbling instead, fortunately Levi understands and he puts Eren on the bed. The soft mattress feels good against his back, and Eren tries to snuggle in but his handcuffs make it hard. He watches Levi grimace and then turn around to bring the key from his pants as well as bring a wet cloth from the bathroom to clean Eren up. 

 

Eren smiles as he watches Levi looking annoyed as he fusses over cleanliness, but cleans Eren up nevertheless. And Eren feels blissed out because he got fucked, and now the love of his life is taking care of him, could it get more perfect?

 

Levi unlocks the handcuffs and gently lays them on the side table, and Eren feels sleep come on him as Levi climbs up beside him and wraps his arms around him. 

 

"I think you should rest up a bit, my jewel, we still have to use those lace panty and those handcuffs look perfect adorning you, we still have your bed and desk to go." 

 

Eren doesn't think he has strength anymore but right now he is busy snuggling in Levi, who kisses him on his neck before nuzzling in him again. 

 

Eren opens his eyes and they fix on the dust motes swirling around in the air. They look calmer now, lazily floating around, and Eren smiles at it.

 

"Don't leave me again, Levi" Eren murmurs drowsily, and Levi pauses against his neck.

 

"I'll be here when you open your eyes," Levi promises and he goes back to kissing him.

 

Eren hums and snuggles in deeper. He feels happy and safe right now.

 

He couldn't have been more content.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna write another sex scene with lace panty and choker necklace, but I felt like it would be too much.  
> As usual, thank you so much for keeping up with me. I can't appreciate enough all the messages I get. I know I'm not replying to them, but tomorrow I am not going to write chapter 18. Instead spend my attention on those lovely messages I've gotten. (edit" nonnies who messaged me on Tumblr, I'm replying them all tonight, I spent three hours over this and I do not regret it. So please see them there <3)
> 
> Next chapter we're back to the plot, it is the beginning of the last arc of this fic BUT there is lot of stuff to cover still, so a lot of stuff is going to go down. All I can say is that Levi is going to get seriously possessive. 
> 
> And I'll see you all soon in the comments. Thank you again ♡


	18. Laces and praises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They aren't done with the lace yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wait did I end up writing pure porn again?  
> Fuck. 
> 
> Okay okay okay, porn wasn't supposed to take up 4K words but lace demands its own chapter. Also I don't have internet and I didn't want to write up something significant, only to disappear for 13 days like the last time (hey that won't happen; I know my neighbor's password but they're extremely stringy and I swear to fucking god they keep a detailed record of how much internet is being used up, that said I will still use it to upload if the WiFi doesn't get fixed soon)
> 
> Anyways you guys have no clue how bad I wanted to write a chapter with Justify my love as the background song but Lutte has already used it in The Intern so *sad face* 
> 
> Anyways bigger notes in the end!

Levi was true to his promise; when Eren wakes up again, he finds himself all wrapped up in his arms. It is near evening and he checks the time worriedly to make sure it isn't too late or he would have to face his parents again. This time he isn't sure how Levi would escape; that man always knew what was up though. It is suspicious that he knows exactly what goes on in his house.   
  
"Mm, Levi," he yawns and tries to turn towards the man who finally lets see his heavenly face. It is clear he didn't sleep for long or he has been up for sometime because he is staring at Eren with those hypnotic silver eyes of his without trace of sleepiness in his face.   
  
"Mm what?" he asks softly, but Eren doesn't answer. Instead he just leans forward and softly kisses the man; it didn't matter how many times they did it, kissing Levi is always a thrill; it is something Eren absolutely loves to do. He wraps his arms around the man and continues to kiss all over his face while running his hands through those silky strands. Levi hums at Eren's enthusiasm but lets Eren kiss him without trying to work him up, and for once, Eren is glad.   
  
He is still so tired from the sex they had hours prior. Levi was rough, it was almost impossible for him to maintain control when it came to Eren, and although it thrilled Eren that Levi had it that bad for Eren, his body clearly disagrees at that idea. He thinks his legs aren't going to work anymore and his arms hurt, being bent in half and getting his ass pounded did take a toll on his body, and now all he wanted to do was to laze around the bed.   
  
He briefly tries to imagine the future, _what future though?_ He imagines trying to introduce Levi to his parents and while Levi can win over Carla and Grisha, he doesn't think his parents would be fooled in the longterm run. They're going to ask the questions eventually, how did Eren meet Levi? the fact he is such a celebrated marketing executive, and not to mention that he is the owner of the best and the most expensive hotel in the country made him stand apart from normal people, topped with his intelligence, looks and personality made it really impossible for Eren to use an excuse of chance meeting. Chances like this didn't happen, people like Levi don't fall in love with people like him. 

 

Then other questions arose now, where would Eren even stay with Levi? his life was at Maria, everyone he knew were here too. But Levi lived in Trost, in fact he is here just because of Eren. He wouldn't move away because of his job, but would Eren have to? he doesn't know how he feels about that.   
  
But those were minor complications, a larger threat loomed over them: Levi is a serial killer, he has haunted Maria and Sina for far too long, how is Eren going to get over that? How is Eren ever going to get over being with Levi instead of helping out the citizens of his country? 

However, when he looks up at Levi it is amazing how easy it is to forget all of the problems, and his troubled emotions are replaced with feelings of safety and contentment. When he is in Levi's arms, can he really worry about anything? He has faith in Levi; in his genius mind to come up with a solution that works out for them, besides, Eren is so happy, so fucking happy right now, can he let go of this?   
  
He can't, he is utterly in love with this man. Levi has opened up a world of thrill and danger for him and for the first time he feels truly wanted. Wanted and cared for. Eren couldn't do it, and besides, Levi hasn't killed recently, right? Eren can have that one hope that Levi can actually get over killing with that.   
  
  
"Aren't you hungry?" Levi says as he finally pulls back and studies him with a frown. Eren tries to hide his emotions but he thinks he fails, because Levi's silver eyes harden at his face and he feels like Levi knows exactly what is going on his mind. He must have gained experience in reading people with his profession, both as marketing executive and as a killer. 

 

 _God_ , he must know exactly how a person thinks like. 

 

And it strikes Eren that he cannot be the only one thinking what is going to happen with their relationship in the future. But what does Levi have in his mind for the solution to that?

"I'm kinda hungry," Eren admits, but snuggles in Levi regardless. He has become toasty and comfortable in his arms that he doesn't want to move no matter even when his stomach starts to growl. Levi chuckles at it though, and he kisses him softly on the head, before pulling back and getting up from the bed. Eren turns to face him and he feels warm all over. Is this what domestic bliss looks like? If it does then this is what he wants forever in his life; to wake up in Levi's arms everyday. Knowing that it sounded cheesy as fuck he opts to keep his mouth shut, and groans out instead. 

 

"C'mere, I'm cold" Eren complains, and he raises his hands and does a grabby motion at the man. 

Levi scoffs, "what you are is a spoiled brat. Get your ass up, don't you want to eat?" 

 

With that he turns away and walks out of the room gracefully. He doesn't close the door behind him; Eren gets up and groans painfully again, his lower back is killing him. Levi fucked him too hard this morning, but somehow Eren feels want kindle in him again, he doesn't know how. Maybe it is because he is so desperate for Levi that he feels like he will die if he is not with him. Whatever it maybe, he has to sort his feelings out soon, he cannot hide in his bed forever, and the summer is going to end one day, and he needs to solve it before the autumn comes and the school year starts. He sighs at the daunting task ahead of him, and he turns around sadly, but before he gets up, something catches his eye; lying on the bedside table was something neatly folded that made him blush. 

  
It is the lacey panty from his rendezvous earlier on. It beckons at him innocently, and Eren grins as he slips out of the bed and puts the lace on and sighs as the soft material rubs against his skin. What a pity they wouldn't stay on for long. 

Well if he has some hard heartbreaking days ahead of him then he better have the fun while this lasts.

 

He pulls over a sweatshirt and pads downstairs, he hears the creak of the wooden floor as he puts his weight on it and frowns at it; the wood must be getting really getting old now. He wonders how Levi manages to sneak in the dead of night without a small squeak to giveaway his movements.   
His thoughts get clouded when he smells the amazing aroma coming from the kitchen and he sniffs at it. The smell is sweetish and sickly, he wonders what the man is up to right now and how the heck did he manage to cook something up this fast? He has been hardly downstairs for five minutes, didn't he had trouble looking where the spices are kept in the kitchen, or where the utensils were stored?Soon suspicion triumped the feeling of awe, and an old question rings in his mind: how come Levi knows what exactly goes on in his house? does Hanji inform him about the whereabouts of the household things when they're here? That seems like a farfetched and a ridiculous idea but what else could be the answer to this?   
  
He ambles in the kitchen and sees Levi is cutting some lentils. _Ugh_ healthy food, not his forte.

 

He is so in lost with his thoughts that he doesn't notice Levi's eyes roam down at what he is wearing. It strikes him that he is in a dangerous territory when he sees the hunger flashing in the man's eyes.

 

“Um,” Eren begins, _uh oh,_  ofcourse wearing only a sweatshirt and lacy panty beneath it was a very bad idea, “So what's for lunch?” he steps behind the kitchen isle to hide his lower body. The fact any movement sent a sliver of pain down his back was an indication he should rest a bit before trying to frolick around in black lace. Now that he thinks about it, it is a very stupid idea. Had it been Levi wearing lace instead of him, Eren wouldn't have been able to resist either. He shuffles awkwardly while Levi doesn't look up even once, his eyes are fixed at the place on the isle behind which Eren is hiding.

 

“You're not fucking planning on that twenty-one questions shit again are you?” Levi growls, and Eren shudders at his rough voice, “because I am not in the mood.”

 

“You're never in the mood” Eren complains, “But I think I should eat first and then take some rest.”

 

“You should have thought about that before putting on the lace panty,” he licks his lips and puts the knife down, “food has to wait.”

 

Eren doesn't even try to run this time because he knows it is hopeless, there wasn't any playfulness in Levi's voice, this time he means serious business.

 

Levi opens his arms and Eren walks towards him reluctantly, not that he doesn't love being in Levi's arms but his stupid back hurts so much that it is making him reluctant to go to his favorite place. Levi notices Eren wincing however, and he kisses Eren softly as he takes off his sweatshirt then wraps his arms around him protectively.

 

“What's wrong?” Eren is shocked at the gentleness in Levi's voice.

 

“Ah.. I..” He whimpers but at last minute he shuts up, he doesn't want Levi to feel like he is some sort of a weakling for being in pain from some rough sex, he doesn't want Levi to scoff and think he is a frail thing, and since Levi is perfect in every way to him then why should he be less than that to Levi?

But Levi trails his hands down, and Eren finches softly when his hands bunch the soft fabric in his hands. He really doesn't hurt that bad, but it is the gentleness Levi is treating him with that is making him whimper far much, he tries to ready himself for any second when Levi is going to take over roughly and push him back on the table, and the prospect of it makes Eren shiver with anticipation. However Levi doesn't make the move, he keeps trailing his fingers downwards, past Eren's ass to the inside of his thighs. His other hand makes its way around Eren's waist but he comes to a standstill when Eren grimaces yet again from the tiny tingles of discomfort.

 

“Are you hurt?” Levi murmurs, and Eren shakes his head vigorously.

 

“No.. no- _ah_!” he yells as Levi pinches his waist, he tries to school back his expression but Levi catches it anyway. He frowns as he pulls his hands back and instead rests them both on the dips on the each side of his waist.

 

“Eren,” Levi commands, “tell me, are you hurting?”

 

“Will you stop if I say yes?” Eren asks hesitantly, resting his own hands over Levi's.

 

Levi intertwines his fingers with Eren's, “No,” he murmurs, “But I can be gentle if it pains you.”

 

Eren snorts at that, Levi being gentle with him?

“No way,” he challenges, “you can't.”

 

“I can definitely make an exception as long as I get to be inside you,” Levi smirks and then he leans in to kiss Eren.

 

It was like earlier in the morning when Levi had roughly pushed him against the kitchen counter but instead of doing that he does it very gently. He kisses him softly, nipping and biting at his flesh without any hurry, while his hands pinch Eren's nipples. He takes the sensitive nubs between his forefinger and thumb, and he elongates it till Eren is whining from the sparks of pleasure that goes directly to his groin. He repeats the process with the other nipple, and once they're hard he moves his fingers away, much to Eren's dismay; he is panting and moaning now, reduced to a mess within seconds that always happens whenever Levi gets his hands on him, it works out for him because then Levi quickens his pace to pound him into pleasure, but this time Levi doesn't move even when Eren whines him to hurry. He kisses all the places he hadn't in the morning, and leaves a whisper of lips in the places he had. Each peck leads Eren to cry out in need, but Levi was being damn slow about this. This wasn't gentleness, this was torture.

 

“Levi, _unh,_ faster!” he moans out, and tries to struggle against his hold, but Levi is strong, insanely strong. He continues to kiss Eren leisurely but Eren feels his muscles tensing. He must be desperate too, but he is pulling back for some reason.

 

“Shh," he smiles dangerously, "you need to learn how to wait, love.”

 

Eren makes strangled noises as Levi continues the slow torture on his body. By now he is sorely regretting telling Levi that his body hurts; it is not even that bad and it hurt way less than the first time they had sex. Levi hadn't stopped to be gentle then so why is he being so gentle now?

 

His mind only supplied one answer: this was Levi's way to warn him into not challenging him in the future.

 

“Why are you doing this?” Eren whimpers and Levi finally pulls back.

 

“Cause you're fucking hurting, that's why. Hadn't I made this clear?” he says with a frown.

 

Eren is confused now; he pulls himself up so he is face to face with Levi now, “wait, you're actually being gentle with me without any hidden motive?”

 

Levi scoffs, and he looks insulted now, “I think I've been clear with my _motif_ so far; as long as I get to fuck you senseless I can take it as slow as I damn want to.”

 

With that, Levi's silver eyes turn smoldering once again. His expression shifts to one of a sensual predator and he pushes down Eren. Eren resists yet again and annoyance courses through him; how can Levi look so good and expect Eren to take it in snail pace? Besides it was evening, he had no clue when his parents would come home and he rather not be naked on the isle begging to be fucked in front of them.

 

“Hurry,” Eren urged, “my parents would come home soon.”

 

He sees Levi smile but he doesn't quicken his pace. He pushes Eren down firmly before following the exact same path with his lips downwards, he leaves little lovebites around the waist area and then gently leaves a kiss over the lace panty- right over Eren's buldge.

 

The sudden contact jerks Eren and Levi holds him down firmly as he mouths Eren's dick. The material is thin and Eren feels the soft cloth along with Levi's hot mouth on in. It feels really good and soon, Eren is moaning for more. Levi indulges him, he leaves kisses all over the lace panty but mouthing Eren's cock as much as he can through the lace, nipping here and there very softly at the skin, causing Eren's back to arch at the sudden pleasure. The now wet cloth chills the place when Levi pulls back and Eren is desperate for the warmth only Levi's mouth can provide.

 

“Tch, so needy.” Levi whispers against his dick and Eren cranes his head to see the man smirking at him. His eyes are smoky, looking mysterious and teasing at the same time. His mouth was curved in a smile and the second he spots Eren staring at him, he smirks again and leans to kiss Eren right where his balls were; that causes Eren to groan out loud and he thinks he will cry from the sexual frustration Levi is putting him through, and Levi probably sees it because he chuckles and pulls back completely, the air chills the lace and Eren scrambles to pull the lace off. He stares at the garment with a sudden loathing because of the torture it made him go through, and he tosses it away before Levi can make him wear it again.

 

Levi glares at him, “that's fucking gross.”

 

“We’ll clean the house after this,” Eren promises, his voice almost breaking from the neediness.

 

Maybe it is the prospect of cleaning right after sex gets Levi to quicken his pace but Eren doesn't have the patience to point it out, his need is replaced with excitement as Levi takes out a small bottle of lube from his back pocket. _Always ready to fuck him_ , Eren thinks with a smile and anticipation sends a thrill through him. _Soon_ , soon Levi will enter him and make him feel whole and make him feel the throes of pleasure that leaves him in a keening and moaning mess.

 

He watches Levi take off his pants with a graceful ease, and then he positions Eren's legs over his shoulders as he pops the bottle open and pours a generous amount of lube on his hands. Eren watches as the liquid glistens on Levi's fingers- the very ones that will be soon inside him- and his toes curl in excitement.

 

“Ready Eren?” Levi says huskily, and Eren nods. He feel Levi's finger around the ring of muscles surrounding his hole and he bites his lip as Levi preps him up.

 

“I need to hear a clear yes,” he commands, “Do you want this finger inside you?”

 

“Yes,” Eren whispers,” I want it inside me.”

 

He expected Levi to plunge in the finger as it would hurt less overall but Levi doesn't. Instead he inserts the finger very slowly and carefully. He still feels the pain and he winces, causing Levi to halt.

 

“Are you okay sweetheart?” Levi questions worriedly, and Eren nods quickly so Levi doesn't take his finger out. Levi waits till he is satisfied with Eren's enthusiasm and he leans forward to kiss Eren hard. There was a desperation in it yet the kiss is controlled, Levi is still pulling back and treating Eren ever so carefully.

 

He pulls back, “another finger?” he asks against his lips, and he ends the question with biting Eren's lower lip causing the boy to yelp.

 

“Yes, please” Eren leans forward to kiss the man, and Levi runs his tongue over where he had bit Eren to soothe the pain, before pushing another finger inside the tight heat, he is as gentle as he was the first time round, and Eren doesn't complain as the burn intensifies. His back is hurting now because of the hard surface and his butt is still in agony, yet he doesn't notice as the bliss of knowing Levi will be entering him soon takes over him.

 

Levi starts to stretch him, and as before he avoids searching for the prostate. It suits Eren fine because he rather have Levi inside him when he feels the pleasure.

 

He feels the third finger at the entrance and he begins to nod before Levi can ask him the question. He feels Levi grin as he leans down to kiss Eren's collar bone and then he pulls back before entering Eren with an easy grace. The three fingers inside him make his back arch with both pain and pleasure but it is not enough, he still feels the dull ache from the rough sex before, and he knows he needs stronger pleasure to override the feeling.

 

Levi sucks at his collarbone and Eren knows by his possessive biting he is leaving hickeys. Levi always left hickeys in the places where Eren's parents wouldn't see it but it was on the proud display for everyone else to see incase Eren chose to wear some revealing outfit.

 

“Levi, please enter me” Eren begs. He doesn't think he can take in Levi's questions about entering him anymore. He gives his consent beforehand.

 

Levi hums and he pulls back, and faces Eren instead. The silver sensual eyes meets the desperate green ones and finally he caves in. He pecks Eren’s lips before pulling his fingers out. The sensation leaves him empty and he feels the thud of dull pain down in his back, but Eren wraps his own arms around Levi and deepens the kiss.

 

He hardly feels Levi move before he feels him gently pushing inside his hole. Eren gasps as Levi slides in till he is buried inside him.

 

Levi pulls back a little bit, “Can I move?” he asks gently and his voice is laced with concern.

 

It warms Eren all over as he adjusts himself; it doesn't take long as his body has been craving for Levi and he nods at the man to signal him to move.

 

He expected Levi to pull back and thrust hard, but he should have known with him being so unexpectedly gentle that he would pull back slowly and then push into him. It takes him a few strokes to find the spot in him, and Levi gently shushes Eren whenever he whimpers as the pleasure takes over the pain. He soon forgets about the discomfort and sighs in happiness as Levi moves inside him.

 

“You're so beautiful Eren,” Levi kisses him softly, he whispers variations of those soft phrases over and over again. They made Eren feel fuzzy with love, and Eren moans as he feels Levi thrust inside him and say at the same time,” I couldn't have been luckier to get a jewel like you. You're so precious Eren, no wonder everyone adores you. No wonder I adore you. Fuck, you have me completely in your control. You have my heart in your hands.”

 

Eren wants to dispute that claim but he bites his lip as Levi pulls back and thrusts into him, hitting the prostate. He does it again and again, gently and slowly. All the while caressing and praising Eren. He feels like he will burst in thousand pieces at the amount of care and the attention he is being shown. He feels like he is floating in the air and he doesn't want to come down ever.

 

Levi pauses a bit, letting Eren adjust again, but doesn't stop his praises. He softly speaks again, “I am so glad I came to Maria, I never thought I'd feel whole again. I never thought I'd be home again. But here I am, and I couldn't be happier.

 

I could shower you in jewels, buy you the most precious and expensive gifts yet they’d never worth as much as you do. I could scour the world and never have something as beautiful as you. I am yours Eren; completely and utterly yours.”

 

Eren is too overwhelmed to say anything, and instead he kisses Levi hard, hoping to convey all his emotions and love which he can't form as words to say. He kisses Levi desperately as if the world is ending. The world _is_ falling apart around him and it is rebuilding itself, and it is making Levi its center. The core, the most important thing.

 

The most precious thing.

 

Levi pushes in and his control weakens but the thrusts get harder, He must be near his climax as is Eren. The euphoria of emotions and the hot white pleasure from Levi's thrusting causes him to orgasm with a strangled moan, and Levi follows him soon after, but his praises don't stop even then, his voice is low and Eren can detect a hint of tiredness and he smiles as he leans to kiss Levi's ear.

 

“Let's snuggle in together, watch a movie and then we'll clean up the place.” Eren whispers hoarsely 

 

Levi pulls out from him and snorts loudly, “Oi. Cleaning first, snuggling second.”

 

Eren doesn't have the power to argue and he simply nods. He watches Levi pull his pants back on and shivers as he remembers he is buck naked. He sees Levi get the cleaning products out of the cabinet and mutter to himself about the lack of cleanliness around here.

 

Eren feels oddly happy at the scene; Levi huffing about cleanliness and them making plans of watching movie after a very emotionally charged sex between then. This was beautiful.

 _No, Wait._ Eren frowns, Levi was being so gentle and nice with him, showering him with praises and the things he said, they made Eren blush and knees weaken; he knew the exact words to say that made Eren happy. This wasn't their normal rough sex- that was the product of desperation to be together after being apart, to communicate how much they missed each other, and while that was special this was something else.

 

It strikes Eren what it was and it makes his spine tingle and heart burst from happiness.

 

It wasn't normal sex, no, far from it.

  
Levi and him didn't have sex at all. For the first time in life, he and Levi had made sweet love.

 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So who is wondering why Levi is being this gentle? 
> 
> Remember how he takes care of his property? If Eren is hurting Levi couldn't have hurt Eren further- that isn't how Levi takes care of his things, right? 
> 
> Plus, Hola praise kink! ;) but more than that, this chapter is incredibly important cause  
> A) Lace  
> B) keep this chapter in mind cause this has an impact on the whole storyline.  
> C) See I used 'torture' here? That's how the fearsome Levi tortures his jewel ;) (I'm a cheesy fuck, Okay?)
> 
> I was so scared that I was giving away important details (cause there are somethings here which, I daresay, gives away the ending) 
> 
> I'm actually happy it turned out to be a porn chapter cause damn, this was crucial. Ha ha. 
> 
>  
> 
> Next chapter: I PROMISE WE'RE BACK TO PLOT. THE LACE PANTY IS GONe TO HELL.
> 
> Anyways I'll reply to the lovely messages both here and on tumblr once I get back internet. I'm so sorry for being away, real life happens :(


	19. Scars of the past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spoiler Alert: Eren still doesn't fucking understand Levi wouldn't let him go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So apparently my mind won: You're all getting more fluff, HOWEVER, it's a transition to the plot which was something I was going to add in this chapter but it was getting tooo long for me to edit so I am sorry folks, this chapter is still going to hurt :D 
> 
> God, I began writing the new chapter already and it HURTS ME CAUSE I AM SUCKER FOR FLUFF.

"I can't believe you're leaving again" Eren complains as he stares at Levi with this hands folded on the man's chest; it was a poor attempt at keeping Levi on the bed the next morning after the alarm went off. They had slept in after yesterday but didn't get much rest because they couldn't keep their hands off each other and it was thrilling in some ways because his mom was paranoid enough to ban him from locking his door at night, his parents had come late last night because of respective meetings at their workplace and they had been quiet shocked because the house was practically sparkling. They made jokes about suspecting if Eren was really their son because the house was more clean than it had been in...well, ever. Eren had graciously taken in the jokes as in not to make them suspicious. He had done some of the cleaning work though, but it was Levi who had done the majority of it. After they had se- _made love,_ Levihad decided to clean up the place, and Eren hadn't really complained then. He was in his post fucked bliss that clouded his mind and he had actually got up from the table, and even though his back hurt he hadn't said anything.

That changed when he actually started to clean. 

 

Levi hadn't been happy with how indifferent Eren was with cleaning. It wasn't his fault, no one ever cleaned right after being fucked! They had started to bicker in five minutes about it and he actually threw the cleaning cloth at Levi and stomped off to his room. His anger didn't last long after he locked himself in the room though, and after calming down he couldn't believe that he had gotten so mad over cleanliness, had they really been fighting over that? This is something married couples did after years of marriage!

But the amount of normalcy in that thought made Eren smile softly. 

 _Marriage_ , huh? 

 

He hadn't gone back out because his stupid pride stopped him. And instead he had went on Facebook to see what his friends from school were up to. It was the usual life. Jean was being an asshole. Sasha was excited because a new restaurant had opened near her house. Connie had got an early acceptance in the college of his dreams and it was something that made Eren smile. Connie deserved a happy life. 

 

He had been so engrossed he hadn't noticed when Levi had slipped in. It was the smell of bleach that gave it away but Eren hadn't thought about it much. He had locked the room, no way Levi could have slipped in. 

So when Levi wrapped his arms around him and left a kiss behind his neck, Eren was shocked at that and he threw his phone away before turning around to face him, and almost had an heart attack when he found Levi naked. 

"What" Eren says confused, it was more of a statement than a question and Levi laughs at that.

 

"What?" Levi asks, he looked amused as pulls back and lets Eren have an eyeful of that glorious body. _Goddamn that sculpted body,_ Eren could make out the well defined muscles in his broad chest and taut milky white skin all the way down, the six pack abs that moved with his breathing and the curve of his waist and the v line achieved from years of workout. Eren didn't dare look below that which was funny, he was being modest even though he has had Levi inside him so many times by now. He wonders how many times he has been lost in his own pleasure to realize the masterpiece of the body his love owned moved over him. He feels guilty for not appreciating that body enough with kisses and attention. Those tiny scars- probably the product of his hard past life, he wants to know the story behind it. He and Levi have transcended from physical love to an emotional one, and the evening earlier was an amazing example of that. But Eren and Levi hadn't really ever talked about themselves. He wants to know about his perspective growing up the way he did, learn about his late friends that he loved so dearly. How he found his love for marketing and dealing with the fame. There was so much left to talk, and it excited Eren. So much to discover, so much to learn about Levi. He knows it will make him love this broken yet perfect man all the more, but he really didn't think it was possible because he loved Levi with every inch of his being already; he felt like he wouldn't be ever to say it in the words, and all he could do was to show Levi like Levi had shown him earlier on. Maybe he could kiss those scars and learn the story of each stoke. Maybe he could ask Levi about his friends as Levi would kiss him softly. Maybe he would talk about himself while being inside Eren. The possibilities were endless.

And Eren couldn't wait to explore them all. 

 

"Are you done eyefucking me?" Levi asks with a smirk and Eren blushed, he looks down to hide his face as to not mistakenly stare at Levi's dick. 

"So you cleaned the house according to your standards?" Eren asks to change the topic and it reminded him that he was supposed to be angry at Levi. _Goddamnit._

"Yes, your house was fucking dirty by the way" he says in an annoyed voice causing Eren to look up and see just in time his face scrunched up adorably. Eren chuckles but doesn't say anything, prompting Levi to glare at him. 

 

"Well?" He says irritated, "No 'thank you'? No apologies for storming off like a spoiled brat and leaving me to clean up behind you?"

 

Eren sticks his tongue out, "well I'm not the one who started to have an aneurysm because there was a tiny speck of dirt on the table. But," he smiles softly then, "thankyou." 

Levi opens his mouth to reply back sarcastically when Eren asks another question that's been running through his mind.

"Why are you naked?" He firmly keeps his eyes up.

Levi's irritated features relax into a smirk," are you complaining?" 

 

"I..I.." Eren stutters, he sure wasn't but he couldn't just say it out loud like that! Levi would never let him down if he said that out loud.

Fortunately, Levi spares him this one time.

 

"I cleaned in those clothes, they were fucking gross. No fucking way I would wear them again." 

Eren blinks at him slowly, "So.. you will remain naked the whole time you're here?" 

He thanks any god out there that blessed him with this opportunity. 

 

"Fuck no," Levi snorts, "I have already put my clothing for washing instead of getting some from my penthouse. Suits me, because I'm going to spend the night here with you since tomorrow I have a meeting here and I'm going to be busy." 

 

Eren pouts, he remembers that Levi had said he had a meeting and his eyes inadvertently go to the hickey he had left yesterday night. It was still there, it had faded a little bit but Levi would have to cover it up. 

"Well if you're leaving tomorrow then come here," he shifts to the side on the bed to make space for Levi. He didn't want to spend a second more apart from his touch knowing he won't be here tomorrow. It was stupid. It was just a meeting! And Eren was upset already about the fact Levi wouldn't be here tomorrow.

Levi walks over and gets in the bed beside Eren. He pulls Eren to him and he climbs on his lap and rests his head on Levi's heart. It beats strongly and comforts Eren because of the soothing rhythm.

 

"When will you be back?" He whispers as he traces the muscles in his arm. Levi is slowly stroking Eren's hair and the muscles move fluidly under his white skin. He watches in awe as Levi leans in to kiss his ear.

"Around evening. It is a long ass meeting so I am not sure," he admits softly.

 

Eren nods and adjusts himself to have a better look at Levi's chest. His hands follow the scars scattered around there, and he leans forward to kiss them softly. He wasn't trying to be sexual or tempt Levi in anyway. It was just a sweet kiss of acknowledging the scars. 

The scars are faint and the more Eren studies them the more he notices the pattern. Or lack thereof. The criss cross marrs his skin but some are deeper than the rest. None of them are too visible so Eren had to be real close to notice any. 

It strikes him then that no one could ever come this close to Levi and live, except him. The thought it grotesque but it warms him inside still. 

 

"What's the story behind these?" He points at the chest. He notices the change in the breathing pattern as Levi intakes a sharp breath. 

"Some of them are from fights when I was younger," he murmurs as he continues stroking Eren's hair, "before the time I knew how to defend myself against sharp knives." 

 

Eren's hands stop over the scars and his breathing hitches. These gashes were so close to his heart, which sent a shiver down Eren's spine, had Levi been this close to death? the thought is unsettling. He tries to imagine a small kid nursing his wounds and crying in pain, but he couldn't form the mental image, it was so unlike Levi for that to happened. And yet it had. These were the proof of it. 

"Did these hurt very much?" He whispers as he presses tiny kisses along the lines, the skin is so soft, and Eren can imagine it was easy to slice through it. The fact that he had come so close to not ever meet Levi ever scared him to death. 

 

"Not as much as the others," Levi murmurs as he takes Eren's wandering hand in his own and trails them down on his stomach. The scars were smaller here but were greater in number. They weren't long lines but small and precise. Eren hardly noticed them because of the abs, but now he saw them clearly. 

 

"These, but why?" Eren asks as Levi strokes the scars using his fingers. 

 

"Self harm." Levi answers, chillingly calm. Eren gasps and jerks his hands back and looks up at the man. Levi is looking down at Eren with no emotion in this silver eyes of his, but he tightens his arms around Eren nevertheless. 

 

"Why?" Eren whispers hoarsely, and he felt tears well up at the corner of his eyes. Levi had self harmed? It felt impossible to him. Why would he ever do that?

"It hurt losing them." Levi looks away then, and Eren can feel his heartbeat quicken up.

_He still cared._

_It still pained him._

 

How stupid of him to consider that it didn't. Levi had become what he had after losing his friends, hadn't he? He acted aloof and cold and the facade worked. Eren had hardly realized that beneath it all, it still hurt Levi. How naive was Eren? is that why he had been so nice to Connie earlier on when Eren had told him about his friend feeling suicidal? Had what he done was because he didn't want Eren to lose a dear friend like he had? Hanji had told him how Levi had watched his childhood friends die, and now the mental image forms clearly in his mind: A broken Levi, on the ground holding his dead, lifeless friends' body and crying over it, because the ones he grew up with, dreamt the life with, had been taken away from him so cruelly. 

Was that why he was so adamant on not letting Eren go? he had to be, no wonder Hanji was convinced Levi would go to hell and come back where it concerned Eren. He was overprotective this bad because it still hurt him losing his friends and now he cared again, cared for Eren, of course he wouldn't let himself go through the same pain again. 

 

Eren leans forward to kiss him then, cursing yet again for the lack of words to express how he felt for Levi. He wish he could comfort him and tell him he had Eren. That Eren wouldn't ever leave him. But the kisses would have to suffice for now and tell the story for him. 

This amazing man was broken and he still said he wouldn't change his past cause he met Eren. Eren really didn't deserve him. 

"I'm sorry," he pulls back and leans his head against Levi's. He is still smelling like bleach but Eren couldn't care less. It comforted him knowing that Levi was passionate about something, a small piece of his life that wasn't heart wrenchingly sad. 

 

"Don't be. It doesn't pain anymore," he says simply and leans in to kiss Eren's nose, "now how about we go downstairs and watch a movie like you had said we'd do?" 

Eren nods but doesn't get off, he respected Levi's wish not to talk about his past anymore but snuggles in Levi just to show him that he would be there when Levi decided to open up.

 

"I'll only go down if you carry me" Eren says, trying to diffuse off the somber mood. 

 

It worked. "Spoiled jewel" Levi scoffs but nevertheless picks Eren up and swings out of the bed.

 

*

After that they went down and watched the movie while Levi's clothes got washed then dried off. It was some sort of a scary movie that spooked Eren out halfway in, but he pretended he was more scared, only so he could climb in Levi's lap again and cuddle him. He suspected Levi knew what he was up to but he doesn't say anything and Lets Eren nuzzle the side of his face.  

 

After the movie finished they tidied up the place and Levi gets his dry clothes, after which they go upstairs and snuggle up in the bed. Eren tells Levi about his life and his friends, and Levi tells him about his workplace and Trost. He liked Trost a lot, it was evident from the way Levi spoke about the place and anxiety crawls up on him, Levi belonged from the grand, rich Trost and Eren from the modest Maria. Yet he loved this place to death. How would they ever make this relationship workout? Even with the love they shared the odds were still stacked against them. It felt like there was no solution to this at all. 

 

He supposes he should ask about this, but his parents come by then. They don't ask much questions, being tired from their work and pleasantly surprised that Eren cleaned up, they leave him alone and Eren tells them that he already had dinner and that he is going to sleep. He walks upstairs quickly and shuts the door behind him gently and climbs up in the bed and in Levi's arms. 

 

He continues to tell Levi about his life, occasionally interrupting to kiss him, it leaves him breathless, and it leaves him hard. Levi takes over soon however, there was a thrill in knowing that the door was unlocked while Levi stretched him wide, Eren wraps his arms around Levi and Levi covers his mouth with his hands to muffle the screams and moans and he enters him in one smooth stroke. They don't last long, having fucked so many times already, but it doesn't stop the pleasure and the sensuality, the closeness of their skins and the connection. 

They clean off afterwards and cuddle till they fall in a blissful sleep. The morning came in like an unwelcomed guest soon after and the alarm rang sharply at seven. Eren woke up grudgingly and he clinged to Levi to stop him from getting out of the bed, clearly not wanting to let him go, he feels uneasiness stir inside him but he had to let Levi leave before Eren's parents woke up. He still complains though, and Levi stares at him in amusement. 

 

"I already told you last night I have to fucking leave. Now get off," Levi says, but he leans in to kiss Eren nevertheless. 

Eren pushes him back and grumbles, before getting off him and sliding off the bed. The floor is cool from the air conditioning and he pads across the room to change his clothes. 

Levi gets up right afterwards and wears his clothes. They walk down silently and Eren's heart sinks as Levi walks to the doors leading to the backyard. He must have parked his car somewhere near the street behind his house and walks to the door to wave him off.

 

"I'll.. be here when you come back," Eren promises and he leans forward to kiss Levi. The man kisses him back softly and then pulls back.

 

"Go to sleep, I'll be back before you know it." Levi says seriously, and then instructs Eren to go back. Eren nods and turns around and walks back to the bottom of the stairs, only to turn back to see if Levi was still standing there, watching him go. 

But there was no one. Eren was alone. 

 

The house felt empty and cold then, and even though he knew his parents were sleeping few doors down from his room. He felt like he was so strangely alone, without Levi he always felt forlorn. 

He smiles at his own neediness for the man and leaves to sleep, the bed is still warm from Levi's presence and Eren can smell the faint odor of bleach as he snuggles in and falls in deep sleep.

***

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa..wait, who is updating after a week? me? pfft.  
> Sorry guys, visits with doctors and psychiatrists drained the heck out of me and I had to be off to do that. Sad story is that I am going to be hella busy in a few days, GOOD news is well, this fic is near the end (not yet quite there, but it's been two months since this started off, I guess you all must be desperate to say goodbye to this :D) so YOU'D WOULDN'T HAVE TO WAIT FOR ME TO UPDATE
> 
> Also if anyone is wondering, Levi knows how to pick locks so that's how he entered the room ;)


	20. The truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren sees Rivaille in action and so now the story unfolds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow.. um, is anyone still here? I know I've said it enough but I am so sorry for not updating, remember how I tell you guys about me going to hospitals? well yeah my parents decided to send me to the mental ward because why not? They don't allow people to use phones there cause..idk? apparently it is for our safety, so I had no way to write or update this fic. I still have a week at the hospital left but for now I am home. So I know people have been worried about me and I am truly sorry SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO:
> 
> preface for people for who don't remember what happened in the last chapter: SEXY TIMES WITH LINGERIE WHICH WAS SAD CAUSE LEVI LEFT FOR A MEETING AFTER THAT.

"Has there been anything on the news lately?" Eren asks his dad at breakfast. 

Grisha looks away from the newspaper he is reading and frowns, "Unless you're into the housing market, then no." 

 

Eren had been woken up by his mom after two hours for breakfast, and he grudgingly got up and went down; he spots his dad reading the daily newspaper while sipping his tea, and the newspaper strikes something in Eren, and he feels worry blossom in his stomach. The last time he had checked the news there had been no murder stories, what if something had changed in that time period? Highly unlikely because Levi had been with him for the majority of the time but it was better to be safe than sorry. 

Still his heart begins to beat fast, what if there had been a murder that Eren had been unaware of and Levi was possibly behind that? What was Eren going to do in that situation?

 

He feels relieved when his dad tells him there are no murders, but worry still gnaws him, it may have been that it wasn't the case this time but what about the next day, week or year? Will he spend his time worrying if his boyfriend is going to kill yet another innocent person? His brain is fired up now, and it is screaming about how Eren is a person for justice- he can't love Levi that much to just let him kill mercilessly and turn a blind eye to that. That...Isn't Eren. Eren loves freedom, he owes it to the place he has been born and brought up in. His friends and family deserved to feel safe from a gruesome killer that stalked in the night. Eren finds all the perfect reasons to turn away from Levi and find evidence against him, he knows Levi is cunning enough to know what he is up to but he is the only person Levi wouldn't hurt, he really is the only one who can gather evidence enough to get Levi behind the jail and that is the thought that leaves him panicked. How is he supposed to sacrifice his love when he is just going to end up horribly alone? Who is going to calm him down and listen to him? Who is going to cherish him and say sweet words to tell him how wonderful it is to be with him? It wasn't just physical with Levi. It was emotional- then how can he give him up for people he didn't even know about? 

Love is so hard. He wished he could go back to being the same Eren at the starting of the summer, just wanting to complete his volunteer hours and then go on with his life. At the same time he doesn't want that, knowing Levi is the best thing that has ever happened to him. He could never give up the grey eyes and the mischievous crooked smile of his. 

But what was there to be done? Was there anyway to get Levi from stop killing? That is a stupid thought, his overprotectiveness wouldn't stop him from driving his car or wearing his clothes, and Eren, his precious, precious property is out and about, and that was the problem, and damn him if he is forced to hole up in a house to keep himself from any harm, he could give up everything but his freedom? He couldn't. 

 

Heart heavy, he tries to distract himself by getting his phone out and searching for random things. He checks his social media sites but they just make him sad because everyone is talking about their blissful untroubled lives- and they are so normal that Eren's heart aches for the life he knows he'll never have. People always complain about being in their comfortable zone and not trying new things but what is the point of that when they have everything that makes their lives so normal? Having a life full of experience is damn good but so is living a life where he is comfortable, where he feels belonged to. And he doesn't feel any of those things right now because he caught the eye of a serial killer and he fell for him. It is a tragedy. And at the end it is going to break him. 

He just hopes that Levi is there to put together the pieces of him back when it all happens. 

 

He is surfing through Google news and something catches his eye. It is a picture of a man and the article's heading talks about a murder. It was sometime ago and it isn't the murder that catches Eren's eyes, it was the fact that the man's face looked similar, surprisingly familiar. He clicks on the link and waits as the new window opens up. The picture appears first and Eren zooms on it till the pixels are visible, and he frowns at it. No, it must have been a trick of his mind because he couldn't have possibly seen this man. He doesn't own a car so he doesn't know a mechanic, period. But why is this guy reminding him of someone? 

 

He continues to read the article and skims over the small font. There had been a murder in the worst part of Maria, the murder itself wasn't a big of a deal, Eren knew there were some shady parts of Maria where illegal stuff took place, murders due to robbery, or some deal gone awry were common, but what wasn't was the way the man died. A bronze bull had been found in the charred remains of his workplace with a skeleton inside, which still had bits of skin hanging off the bones. It was baffling the residents and the police alike, there had been no foreign fingerprints on the latch of the bull other than the mechanic's own, and no signs of forced entry, could this be a suicide case? The idea was being quickly discarded according to the article cause dying by burning was a slow and a horrendous way to go, why would anyone do that? Burn to death inside confined in burning bronze? People thought this was a freak accident and maybe the man bought the statue and must have been checking out when the oil caught the fire, he must have panicked and locked himself in by mistake and that lead to his tragic death.

 

Eren reads further on, some people were disagreeing, who put the fire then? It was easily explained because it was a mechanic's place and flammable things are usually part of their tools. What couldn't be explained was the fact that a mechanic had a bronze bull statue in his workplace. It is bronze and huge, too costly for a mechanic who belonged from a poor place with a family consisting of his mother and deceased brother, who was a gang leader that had disappeared just earlier this month. Was this much more deeper than it looked or was it just a chilling misfortune? 

 

_Wait.._

 

Eren looks up at the man and his eyes widen as the realization strikes him, the mechanic looked like the man from earlier on! The one who had surrounded him that fateful evening when he had first met Rivaille! that gang leader must have been the missing brother and Eren realizes they both looked so similar to him because they were related. 

And they both are now dead. 

 

What were the odds? could this really have been a coincidence or  was this a murder? If it was so, was it Levi behind it?  

 _No,_ Eren argues with himself. He wouldn't just suspect Levi on this basis! He reads further on and finds out that the mechanic had called his friends prior to death, all of them had been questioned and they all collaborated the story: The mechanic had been talking about a mysterious customer who was really handsome and had money, his dad ran a company specializing in statues and sculptures. He was spoiled and arrogant, and was most likely the prime suspect.

 

Eren looks up and sighs in relief. _It wasn't Levi_. Handsome and money checks out but Levi doesn't have his dad running a business, neither was he  arrogant. He feels his heart calm down and his shoulders relaxing, phew,  _that was a close call._

 

"Eren?" His dad asks, concerned, "Are you okay?" 

"Huh? Uh, yeah" Eren nods quickly and looks at his dad to dispel the serious mood, his dad scrutinizes his face and then nods. 

"I'm going to cook food and help your mom around the house, would you mind buying groceries this afternoon?" He asks, and Eren smiles and nods again. 

Grocery shopping was the last thing he wants to do but being able to get out and have fresh air is probably important to his health. So he gets up and decides to help in the household chores. He dusts the kitchen and blushes everytime he passes the counters, it reminds him of yesterday and he misses those moments. It all had been so perfect. 

 

"Eren, stop day dreaming!" His father snaps from the living room but his voice lacks any venom, Eren blinks and notices that it was almost time for sunset now and it was better if he got the groceries before nightfall, so he sighs and puts the dust cloth away before going up to take his bath and then to take the shopping list from his mom. She is humming and curling her hair, and she smiles as Eren slinks in and takes the list that is kept on the desk. 

 

*

 

He is on the street when he gets a phone call, a shiver of excitement runs through him but then he sees the number and realizes that it isn't Levi. It was Hanji. 

 

"Good evening Hanji" Eren greets them as he walks down the path. 

"Eveeening kiddo! Watcha upto?" They ask excitedly.

 

Eren smiles and he spots a bench right off the path and decides to sit down a bit. He sighs when the cool stone touches his back and he closes his eyes.

"Grocery shopping. I'm out doing that." Eren murmurs.

"Ooh!! I hope you're eating healthy food there bud, you know how teenagers are, always eating junk food." 

Eren cracks an eye open at Hanji's complaining, "well last time I checked I wasn't the one eating from McDonalds." 

 

"Hey!" Hanji huffs, "Give me a break!" 

Eren laughs, "you started it! Anyways what do you want?" 

At that, Hanji sobers up, they breathe in heavily for a minute and then say, "So I did some digging about MP." 

Eren crosses his legs, and notices the sun is dipping slowly now, "why would you research about the police, Hanji?" 

 

"I wanted to learn more about the treatment of dangerous criminals here," they admitted and chills ran down Eren's spine, "Apparently, their favorite method is torture." 

 

Eren gulps as he watches the sky, "why are you telling me this, Hanji?" 

 

"Huh? Oh cause I'm a police person silly! but anyways torture is common but there is rampant corruption spread across the whole department. The higher ups are lazy and self entitled assholes, and any rich person can get off by giving them money, such unprofessionalism breaks my heart Eren."  

 

Hanji sounds so sad that Eren wants to hug them hard, they might have been trying to hint Eren about turning in Levi but they truly did care about their job, and to see it being disrespected in such a way is disrespect to themselves.

 

Eren gazes at the sky; it's in the soft hues of pink and red, and the sun had vanished from the sky, he feels the evening approaching fast, and already feels the cool summer breeze blowing through his hair, it messes the already mussed up hair but it does nothing to soothe his agitation. 

 

"Hanji," he says, "It's not your fault, isn't there anyway you can get the corrupt officials arrested?" 

 

"No," Hanji replies mournfully, "those bastards have all the police under their fingers and they're taking full advantage of the situation. This sucks!" 

Eren is nodding in sympathy the whole way and he opens his mouth to comfort Hanji further when his eyes land of the something; near a house, behind the trimmed bush. There was someone watching him. 

 

He feels his arm's hair raise up, something feels really wrong here. "Hanji, I gotta go." Eren says softly.

"Huh, Eren? What's wrong?  Are you in danger? " they ask, panicked.

Eren murmurs a quick yes before keeping the phone down. He tries to look at man's profile but it is too dark, and he can hardly see the silhouette there, so he takes a few step back and walks away slowly, making sure not to give away his intent. He spies the man get up from his hiding place and starting to stalk Eren while flexing his arms like he was getting ready for a fight, but Eren is smart. 

He is on the outskirts of a residential area and he has more chances of ditching the stalker there. Residential area meant that there were people present and anyone would have to be an idiot to attack him where he can get help easily; with a sense of urgency,  he quickens his pace and almost breaks into a run around the corner-

And stops abruptly as he comes face to face with another man. The man is beefed up with muscles and has a dangerous glint in his eyes, he sneers at him and he takes a menacing step forward, forcing Eren to stumble backwards. He tries to turn around in desperation to escape when he sees three other equally strong men approaching him, blocking all possible escapes. 

Fear chills his spine as he realizes that he is surrounded. 

 

"Yeager?" One of the man asks gruffly and Eren's automatic answer is a  _yes?_   but he bites his lip from answering accidentally, which isn't fruitful since the man is asking one of his henchmen rather than him to confirm who he is. One of the guy scrutinizes Eren and he feels downright uncomfortable as the man's gaze feels dirty as he studies him. 

Eren prays to all gods to be misidentified, whatever the reason these people had surrounded him for couldn't be good.

"Yes, he is Yeager" The man confirms and Eren's heart sinks, he knows he's dead meat and tries again to flee, but even as he takes a step back from the menacing men, he knows in his heart that he has nowhere to go. He watches in horror the man who had been asking for his identification take a butcher's knife out from his jacket, and he hears rustling behind him as they close in. The fighting instincts cause him to curl his hands in a form of defence but Eren has fought bullies, these weren't the ones he could threaten and get away, these meant business.He watches the men advance and he can feel them leering and sneering at him and he turns around to face the others and gulps as one of them points a gun at him, while other have machetes . The dying sun rays glint off the machetes giving it a wicked edge and Eren knows these people are out to seriously harm him.

He wants to ask who were these people and why is he in such a predicament but he doesn't have the time as one of the men swing forward and he barely misses the knife as the man charges again; Eren is nimble enough to dodge the attacks but the knife manages to cut his skin, leaving him bleeding yet more determined as the blood begins to trickle out. His lean figure gives him the advantage as far as the reflexes go but he is up against too many people and he doesn't have a weapon with him, to survive he needs a way to defend himself and so he makes it his priority to get one from the attacking men. He tries to swerve as one swings his arm to punch Eren, and manages to tackle a man, and when he seems to be gaining the momentum, he feels the adrenaline rush through his veins, he is hyper aware of every tiny movements, like the cracking of the mens' knuckles as they get ready to attack again and the swing of the knives. Eren knows he might die, but damn him if he doesn't die fighting for his life.  

 

He flexes his muscles to get ready to fight to stay alive and that is when he hears the awful click of the gun, he tries to turn around but then he feels the cold barrel pressed against his forehead almost painfully, Eren growls as the men close on him and the man holding the gun forces him to kneel on the ground. Eren tries to struggle but a man barks the order to restrain him and within seconds his hands are twisted painfully behind his back. 

 

"Tie him up lads, we'll take him back and gouge his pretty eyes out. It will be fun." The leader sneers.

 

Eren's blood freezes as he hears the other men howl and laugh at the comment, he hears some give more suggestions on how to torture him and he feels sick. These men were monsters, what did Eren do to deserve this fate? He sobs knowing that he is going to die in pain and isolation; Hanji might know he is in trouble but he doesn't think they can find him soon enough to save him. He is truly trapped.

But even as despair sets in he remembers something: He still has one last chance.

 

"LEVI" Eren screams and the men cease to talk. 

"Huh? who is Levi?" One of the men mutters curiously. 

"Don't be an idiot! gag him or else he'll alert the residents!" Another says frantically. 

"LEVI HELP M-uff!" Eren screams desperately as he feels one of the man gag him with his hand, he struggles but the energy is draining out of him alarmingly quick and his movements become messy, he is tiring because of all the fighting and his muscles are aching now, he doesn't know if Levi heard him, and really, how could he? the idea of Levi being here is absurd since Levi was at a meeting and he didn't know where Eren was. Eren was truly helpless. 

 

The men look around uneasily for a minute and when they see no one is alerted, the man holding the gun shoves the gun back in the holder as another one takes a cloth out to gag him and he advances towards Eren; Eren resists and tries to struggle against the hold weakly but he is hopeless, the men are too strong for him.  

The man releases Eren's mouth to tie it with the cloth instead and Eren tries to free himself for the last time, "touch me and you'll regret it." He croaks out. 

"Oh I'm sorry princess," the guy chuckles and Eren smells the faint scent of tobacco and alcohol coming off the man's breath, "who would make me regret that? You?" He sneers. 

 

"I would." 

 

Eren gasps as the men look around in shock. He tries to turn around to see the source of that blessed voice but the man holding him pushes him to the ground. Eren struggles to just see Levi and that is when he feels something on his cheek and a accompanied stinging pain of a knife, across his face. He's been struggling so much that he hadn't noticed the small pocket knife the man used to cut him but now that he did, he stills. Everyone stills with him, and it is because of that he hears something crack. The man holding him is distracted by the movement and Eren uses it to his advantage. 

He turns around. 

He had expected Levi to be holding a man arm in a sickening position to break it, and the fleeting thought made him queasy enough. What he hadn't expected was a man's head bashed against the sidewalk. The impact had been hard enough to knock him unconscious, and there was blood slowly pooling around his forehead. Eren watches as the man starts to come back to his senses, groaning and moaning while at it, and it is when Levi bends down. To hit him again? but no, Eren thinks he sees Levi checking the fallen man's pulse with a gentle touch. Why would Levi do that?  

"Still alive, I see." He murmurs, deadly calm, Eren is confused as to what that meant and that is when Levi wraps his hands around the man's neck and then he squeezes it, the lack oxygen jerks the man back and he begins to flail, trying to pull Levi's hands off him but he is too weak, Levi watches him struggle for barely a minute before he abruptly snaps the man's head to the right. Eren hears the horrible crack again as the man goes limp for the final time.

Levi wastes no time and looks up at the remaining men, there is a sort of untamed fury and craziness in his grey eyes. His beautiful face contorted in a permanent smile which was slightly crooked, and looked hellishly scary. 

"So who's next?" He asks in that same monotone voice, and it chills Eren. He remembers this voice very well- he had heard it the very first time he had met Levi. 

 _Not Levi,_ his mind screams, it was _Rivaille._ And with that thought a dreadful idea occurs to Eren: This is Rivaille, the heinous serial killer, and not the man he loves.

And for the first time, Eren fears for his life.

 

He looks for an escape but finds it blocked, and in his desperation he almost misses a man bravely trying to swing the butcher knife at Levi. But Levi is deadly quick, he sidesteps him easily and when the man tries to swing again Levi dances his way out, but instead of another attack he grabs the man's hand and the man is surprised; he hadn't expected that and his grip on his weapon weakens, which causes the knife to slip from his hand. Levi disarms the man by taking the weapon away and now the attacker is defenceless. He blinks in shock and doesn't have the time to react as Levi attacks. Eren watches in a dreadful amazement as Levi laughs as it becomes apparent that the man will not make it. Eren sees the fear flash in those beady black eyes as Levi makes his final move. 

He stabs the man in the stomach causing the man to scream in pain as he falls down clutching his stomach, the deathly wails are loud and it pierces through Eren's ears. And he snaps out of his trance. Another attacker down, three more to go. He looks at others and sees them readying their knives but Eren isn't scared of them anymore. He is scared of that person who he had fallen in love with. 

He was scared of Levi. 

 

He remembers all the murders Rivaille had committed in a flash, and his initial fear of the man returns. The cries of the victim's mother, the horrible sleepless nights of the ones left alive. The panic he caused the masses. It echoes with the death wail of the person on the street. Trying to cling desperately to life. He didn't deserve to die no matter what. No one did. 

Eren tries to get courage enough to get up and go to the man. Save him in any way from the painful death he is destined to have but he is too late. Levi reaches the man first and Eren feels somewhat relieved: Levi would surely kill this man and end his suffering now, right? But Levi smiles before he reaches down, and then he plunges his hand inside the man's bloody stomach. 

The blood is too much for Eren to see the extent of the injuries and in his horror he watches Levi pull his hand out; and he does it again, repeatedly till the man's scream turns into a gurgle as he finally loses his life because of the pain. 

 

"Who is next?" Levi asks again. 

 

He turns around and walks towards the remaining men, they are taller and have more muscle than Levi but they were cowering in fear. Eren turns away from the gruesome scene and towards the opening now, and the second Levi looks away Eren runs. He runs harder than he ever had in his life, harder than the time he had run to his house because he thought something had happened to his mom, harder than running to protect Armin after hearing he is being bullied again. He knows Levi could catch him in a heartbeat if he wanted to but Eren doesn't hear anyone behind him, but he can hear the faint echoes of scream. He runs. He runs as he hears the sound of fights he knows the outcome of. He runs away from the death match before Levi comes for him. He doesn't know which direction he is running at, until he runs on the main street and almost ends up getting hit by a car. 

He blinks to realize what is happening when someone rolls the window of the car down. 

"Eren! Hey Eren!" He hears Hanji's cheery voice. 

 

Eren turns his wild eyes at Hanji who is waving at him from their police car; looking lively and carefree as usual. Eren wastes no time and frantically opens the passenger's side door and flings himself in and locks the door beside him. 

 

He feels like his heart about to pound out of his chest when he turns around and finds Hanji staring at him in confusion. 

 

"Kiddo?" They ask, concerned. 

"Drive, please drive." Eren cries out, and that is all he can get out before he feels himself losing to the darkness. 

 

***

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Levi saves his princess, and now the princess is scared of him :/ 
> 
>  
> 
> side note: I'll try to reply back as soon as possible, I AM SO SORRY :(  
> Also I NEED MORE ERERI IN MY LIFE? if you guys post only/mainly Ereri on instagram please tell me?? I NEED MORE ERERI. Anyways I'm unseeliesidh there to cause why not.


	21. A different side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi is the horrible monster Eren never thought he'd fall for, now that he has realized who he actually is, what will he do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH  
> I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH 
> 
> AND I'M SO SORRY TO THOSE PEOPLE WHO MESSAGED ME LAST MONTH AND ALL AND I, LIKE A TRUE ASSHOLE, DIDN'T REPLY YET. 
> 
> I PROMISE I WILL REPLY TO ALL THE MESSAGES BY NEXT WEEK 
> 
> AHHHHH

When Eren comes back to consciousness, his eyes open to a small room with bright white lights. He narrows his eyes from the harsh glare before getting up slowly and sitting back upright causing him to groan from the pain caused by a crick in his neck. He looks around in confusion before realizing abruptly that he is at Hanji's office in the MP building. 

 

He is disoriented and confused; how did he end up in Hanji's office? wasn't he supposed to be getting groceries for his house? He wonders as the last of sleepiness leaves his face and mind causing him to become fully awake, and he almost has an heart attack when he realizes that someone is standing at the doorway.   
  
"You're awake, nice!" Hanji greets him cheerfully, and sets down a cup of coffee in front of him, which he hadn't noticed in Hanji's hands before. The drink smells amazing and Eren wraps his hands around the warmth and soon realizes that he is very cold. He takes a sip and sighs as the warm liquid soothes his parched mouth; he drinks greedily and sets the cup down when he is done. Hanji sighs as they watch Eren, and then they gently close the door behind them before sitting in front of Eren. The scraping of the chair against the flooe causes Eren to wince and he looks up at Hanji who is staring at him in worry.   
  
"You're awfully jumpy kiddo, what happened?" Hanji asks gently and extends their hands to cup Eren's. The touch does something in Eren and all the memories come rushing back to him. _Oh God,_ all the gruesome scenes come back to him at once and he feels his eyes tearing up. He cannot believe that happened, Levi.. 

 

"Eren?" Hanji says again with desperation clouding their voice, Eren looks in their gentle brown ones and before he knows, he is spilling out all the details. He himself cannot imagine all the horrible stuff he is talking about had really happened, and he feels like he is living in a nightmare as the screams and Levi's laughter echo in his mind, only he is not waking up no matter how much he tries. He begins from the starting, all about being chased and then Levi saving him, and slowly the reality of what happened sets in, and it leaves an ugly feeling in its wake.   
  
"..and so I ran," Eren sobs as he finishes his story, "and that is when you found me and I blacked out.." He quietens down after that, his sobs turning to sniffles.   
  
"Oh Eren," Hanji murmurs sympathetically, "I-"   
  
"Don't!" Eren pulls his hands back from theirs and wraps them around himself in some pitiful way of protecting himself from everything, "Don't try to tell me you're sorry, you knew what a monster he is!" 

He looks up at Hanji and glares at them accusingly, it was their fault too! why didn't they protect Eren?   
Why didn't they stop him from falling in love with Levi? 

 

"Why?" he asks brokenly. He thought Hanji would always be there for him, like his guardian. Eren respected them like his parents and now he felt like he was betrayed by them. 

 

"Eren.." They begin softly, "believe me Eren, I tried. I tried warning you a lot of times but you were so enamoured by him to even notice who he really is. I told you about his life, I told you I will help you to catch him, what else could I do than to watch you two fall so deeply in love?" 

  
  
Eren still felt like lashing out at Hanji even though he knew they were right, they always been honest with Eren, but he still wanted to blame someone, or else he would go crazy. How could he have been this stupid? 

  
  
"Why didn't you stop me from loving him?" He croaked softly. 

  
  
"You don't decide who you fall in love with kiddo," they reply sadly, " That is how it works."

  
  
They quieten down after that, leaving Eren to contemplate, love was never fair to him, damn him for going headfirst into things without thinking about it. Damn Eren for being this helpless and in so much goddamn love to be so blind to the dangerous game he had been playing, but since he made a mistake, he will find a remedy for it. So he willed to forget his feelings and emotions for a second and look up at Hanji with blazing green eyes. Their eyes widen at the sudden change and they frown.  
  
"I made a grave mistake Hanji," Eren growl, " I will clean up the mess too. You have to help me to catch Levi. It is time we put him behind the bars like he deserves. 

  
  
***  
  
"Hello 911, what's your emergency?" Eren asks as he receives a call.   
  
"Help! my cat is stuck on the tree!" the receiver wails and he hears some faint meows at the background. 

"Please keep your call on hold, I'll transfer it." Eren says politely before keeping the phone down. He looks up from his desk and outside the window; it is brilliant blue day and the sun was out, but the streets below which usually remained empty at this time of summer had two police cars parked beside the footpath. He saw the police men sitting inside the car looking vigilantly around, and Eren sighs as he looks away and leans back on his chair. 

It had been only three days yet it felt like an eternity to him. Three days since his world came down.   
Three days since he last saw Levi.   
  
His heart aches at the thought of the man. Eren bit his lip to stop his eyes from welling up like it had been doing for the past couple of days whenever he thought about Levi. He had been strong in front of Hanji, and his parents alike, to the outside world he looked like a determined guy who was working hard to catch the serial killer and put him behind the bars, but in the inside he was just a boy who was still head over heels for the very man he is supposed to hate. No matter how much he tried, Eren could not forget Levi's gentle caresses, his lips on his skin, his arms around him making him feel truly safe. The feeling that came with being with him, it was unlike any other. Eren sorely missed him, and he hated himself for it. 

  
  
He gets up from his desk and heads towards Petra's cubicle. Ever since she turned down Auruo, Eld and Gunther  spent their time around her a lot more, but Eren didn't mind. These people had no clue about what was going on in his life and it relieved Eren because he could finally stop acting like he is strong and unaffected like he had to with people who knew the actual story.   
  
"Hey guys," he greets them all as he leaned against the wall.   
  
"Hey Eren!" Petra smiles at him. Petra hadn't asked about Levi even once ever since Eren came back to do his job, he only imagines Hanji must have told her something about their relationship, regardless he is glad. He doesn't think he can hear Levi's name without breaking down.   
  
"Eren," Eld begins, eying Gunther suspiciously who was grinning evilly at Auruo, " We're having a party at the beach this afternoon, there's booze too!" he cheers and Gunther high fives him in return, "Literally all of us are going, come with us!"   
  
"Yeah Eren!" Auruo sneers from his cubicle, "grace us with your heavenly presence!"  
  
Eren smiles at all of them sadly and shakes his head, "sorry guys, I have a curfew. Maybe next time?"  
  
"Aww, partypooper!"  
"Who cares bro? more booze for us!"  
  
Everyone begins to chatter about the party and Eren smiles at the enthusiasm. It isn't like he really has to be home by a particular time, it is only that he has to be on his guard all the time now. After talking to Hanji three days ago he took the security matters in his own hands. Now, he is the one who keeps a check on police rotations around his house, and place them strategically at the places he knows Levi can get in from. It pains his heart as his mind screams at him to stop it. There is nothing in the world he wants more than to be in Levi's arms but he also cannot forget the horrible atrocities he had committed. He had nightmares about those days, of him being too late to save the men from dying and Levi laughing as the blood pooled at his feet, he woke up sweaty and crying a lot because of that, only to fall asleep again in exhaustion with him wishing Levi was there to comfort him as his last thoughts before the darkness encloses him. It is a vicious cycle, his parents noticed, Hanji did, and so did others. He told his parents the partial truth: That he has been having nightmares but doesn't know the reason for that, and with Hanji it was self explained. They hugged him sometimes when they saw his eyes particularly puffy and those are the times Eren cannot help himself from lamenting and wishing for Levi to be there with him, for him to tell Eren again how much he meant to him.   
But after those moments he pretended to be strong again, and so far, it wasn't working. 

 

Hanji pokes their head from their office, "party? did I hear about a party?" 

  
  
"Oh hush!" Petra laughs, "you already know about it HanjI!" 

  
  
"Oh that party," Hanji mutters but then their eyes go over to Eren standing by the people, with a melancholy look in his eyes. They call him out, and he looks up in surprise.

  
"I have some coffee for ya, kiddo!" they say tenderly, "come on in?"

  
  
Eren nods and he goes inside the office, after he enters he closes the door behind him, dulling the sounds of the talks of party. The room is quieter after that, only the gentle sounds of ticking clock breaking the heavy silence periodically.   
  
Hanji pours Eren the hot coffee and he gratefully accepts the drink. He sips it slowly as Hanji began to speak.  
  
"So I spoke to the Chief of MP, and he says he is visiting this branch of Maria for a meeting tomorrow.." they say hesitantly.

Eren nods and keeps his cup down, "Can he help us in anyway?"   
  
"I don't know Eren," Hanji sighs and rests their face on their palms, "I mean he is the chief and I guess we can try to talk to him."   
Eren nods again, "Then we'll do that. A chief's help would be a great asset to capture someone." 

 

He rises as soon as the familiar look of pleading enters Hanji's eyes, and leaves before they can stop him. He doesn't need to be reminded of Levi's broken past at this time, he himself was so close to giving up, and to just give in the temptation that is Levi. The fact he is so close to him is driving him crazy and Eren has to stop himself from looking for him; when did he fall so deeply in love? 

 _It took one summer to fall for him, yet it will take an eternity to fall out of it,_ he muses to himself as he goes back to his work again.

 

**

  
After he's finished with his work Eren reviews the security he has for the day and wraps up his work, almost everyone is leaving now and Eren sighs, he didn't like this time, it meant he had to go back to his house and stay alone with his thoughts, and fight the desperation of wanting Levi. He sniffs and then walks out, says goodbye to Annie on his way, and then goes home in the police car. He keeps a vigilant eye on anything out of the place but he doesn't find anything, but still feels eyes on him, not the disgusting type, but the one that caused delicious shivers down his spine.   
_Stop that, Eren!_ he commands himself, but the intensity of the gaze doesn't lessen till he reaches his house. 

 

He waves the police man goodbye, and greets the ones patrolling his house. Once he enters his house he makes sure all the locks are in the place and everything is normal, before going to the living room to switch on the television. He sets it on one of the soap opera channels and begins to plot for tomorrow. The police Chief is going to talk to him and it was the first step towards the right direction, what should he say? that he knew who Rivaille is? but what evidence does he have? that worries Eren. He has no evidence and no matter how much he tries he cannot get it, it is probably because Levi leaves no trail behind and also cause Eren cannot bear to think about Levi without crying his eyes out, let alone gather evidence about him.

 

He jots down what all he thinks he should talk about when sleepiness takes over him.

   
Tomorrow, from tomorrow Levi is going down, he thinks before heading to his room and falling asleep.   
  
***  
  
Levi leans back in his room as he watches Eren curl up into a ball on his bed. He hates how the blanket covers his delicious body and Levi's fingers twitch from wanting to hold Eren. Right now, Eren should be in his arms, why is he humouring the boy right now? Levi didn't give two shits about the police surrounding Eren. He could go in right now and kill anyone who dares to stand between him and his jewel. But it was because there were other fuckers to dispatch off who thought they could fuck with Levi by trying to get Eren. They were scattered around Maria but weren't hard to hunt down, and Levi relished the hunt for these scums. Anyone who tried to hurt Eren had it coming for them, afterall.   
  
Oh Eren, his poor sweet Eren, Levi knows he made a mistake with killing the people and letting Eren get away from him, he just didn't know his sweetheart could be this tenacious in trying to keep himself away from him. He knew Eren would get freaked out, and it was just because he saw those scums hurting Eren that his control slipped, otherwise he wouldn't have let Eren see who he truly was. 

 

As if it fucking mattered to Levi, nobody could stop him from getting to Eren, he was his, only his. 

  
He smiles as he switches off the live feed and gets in his bed, the idea of Eren panting and screaming his name were the last thoughts in his mind before he falls asleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> K well, after I finished writing today at 7 I realized I hadn't added certain parts of the story that would have clarified the situation(s) enough, and now they wouldn't fit in anywhere unless i change the whole writing so here it goes: 
> 
> -When Eren told Hanji that he is in danger, they immediately decided to search for him (since he mentioned that he was grocery shopping so it was obvious that he would have been around that area itself) that's how they found him. 
> 
> \- They took him to their office right after Eren fainted, and made him coffee. 
> 
> -Eren probably told his parents that he had asked for security cause he doesn't feel 'safe' for some reason. (His mom gets worried as usual but his dad thinks Eren is overreacting) 
> 
> -remember Eren crying from nightmares and wishing Levi was there? Yeah well Levi is watching that..


	22. An unexpected turn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren meets the chief and now the fate of Rivaille lies on his shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOOOO  
> NEW CHAPTER 
> 
> *cricket noises*
> 
> So okay, I know I'm not yet replying to all of your sweet messages, it is because I am going back to the hospital tomorrow and I cannot rush writing to you guys because you guys know me, comments mean more to me than the actual story and they're my favorite part about this writing experience. I just cannot comment something random or thoughtless and end up not being able to reply properly. I know I've been receiving tons of love from you guys and once I am fully back I will reply to each and everyone of you. But please, I'm reading each of those messages and they mean so much to me, I cannot tell you guys enough.  
> That being said I am not allowed to use my phone from tomorrow on. But don't panic yet! I'll be back soon! 
> 
> I love each and everyone of you, I cannot express enough how much your comments and support mean to me. I truly have the best readers in the world! I'll see you guys soon ♡

The next day arrives too quickly. 

 

Eren wakes up in the morning as soon as the alarm goes off. He yawns and stretches before cracking his eyes open, which were puffy as usual. He is slowly getting used to the crying, but the instant thought of looking at the empty side of the bed for Levi is still causing him immense sadness. He thought the pain got easier as the days wore on, but while the time passes so does his longing. He thinks about Levi all the time now, often wondering if the silver eyed man was missing him the way he was pining for him. 

 

He imagined Levi giving up and going back to Trost, and finding someone else there; someone who would replace his place as his precious jewel, and the thought drives him crazy with anger. Jealousy was a bitch, and not knowing what Levi was upto was one of the myriad reasons he wanted to see the man so desperately.

 

He gets out of the bed and pads downstairs, the wood creaks and groan under his weight and Eren frowns. No matter how quiet he tries to be the wood still makes the noise, how the hell did Levi come in so quietly?

The more he thought about Levi, the more unreal he seemed to be. Levi, Levi, _Levi_. What an enigmatic mystery. _His_ enigmatic mystery. 

 

He makes breakfast and yawns as he prepares coffee. And when his food is ready he takes it and goes to the living room to watch the news. He raises the volume of the television loud enough that his ears hurt, it was to instill the delusion of having someone else other than himself in the house. His parents were off to their respective jobs, and Eren was terribly lonely. Atleast the loud noises help a little bit. 

It is because of the loud sounds that he hears the headlines. He was lost in his thoughts yet he looks up when he hears the reporter talking about mysterious murders taking place.

 

"It seems like people connected to the underworld are being targeted," the reporter spoke, " three people dead and no leads. There are no clues and it seems like the murders were committed by an expirienced serial killer but there is no way to discern it yet."

 

Eren blinked at the screen as a blurred version was shown of the strewn bodies found yet again in the poorer parts of Maria. He remembers the brazen bull suicide and now he is forced to reevaluate again if it was really a suicide. He had promised himself not to judge Levi on every murder being committed, but now he has no choice but to suspect him. But why would Levi kill all these people? Levi murdered when there was a threat to his properties. Was it possible that these men were linked to the ones who had surrounded him earlier this week?

 

Was he the reason Levi has been killing?

 

The thought causes chills of dread down his spine; the men who Levi attacked were the ones who had surrounded Eren. Same with the earlier instances of anyone who dared try to harm him. Was it all somehow linked to him?

The mere idea sickens him, but he cannot deny the truth. Were these men out to hurt Eren and perhaps, this one time, Levi was playing the role of a good guy?

 

Whatever it was, Eren couldn't still let go of the fact Levi had murdered innocent people in the past. But he was dangerously close to forgiving him. Fuck, why did it had to be so complicated? Why couldn't Levi be the mysterious killer who Eren could hate without a second thought? Now no matter how much he tried he couldn't hate Levi, he couldn't feel anything other than the immense, self consuming love for Levi. 

 

 _Get a grip Eren,_ he scolds himself, g _o to the MP building and get Levi behind the bars before you lose your willpower and end up in his arms._

 

***

 

His job is boring as usual; it's all just calls for help for the most random things. Petra received a serious phone call but that was as far as any excitement went. 

 

Eren was marking the days till he had to go back to school. He didn't have much time left and he smiles at the idea of going back to his normal life. He certainly wonders if it will all be the same. Maybe after months pass Levi would forget him and go back to the glamorous life he has, surrounded by rich and talented people while Eren stays at Maria working at his modest paying job. His heart aches at the idea of being away from Levi, but then he remembers the other option: to gather evidence and put Levi in the jail. That was the choice that broke Eren's heart. Levi would certainly get the harsh punishment of death. The idea of that was unimaginable to Eren. He could live with Levi not loving him but Levi not being alive? That was unacceptable. 

 

He is so lost in his thoughts that he forgets to notice the phone ringing on his table, he blinks as he comes back, but by the time he reaches for the phone, Hanji is already there picking it up and talking to the person on the other end.

 

"Ya, ya. Hold on I'll forward your call." Hanji says happily, "You are so lucky to be on the bloody scene! So much blood and guts, ooh!"

 

"Hanji," Eren hisses as their voice gradually becomes louder and louder, causing people to look up from their desks.

 

"Oh no, I am not that weird, sheesh. Oh well." They keep the phone down and turn to Eren. They were smiling and Eren is taken aback, they had been so morose for the past few days.

 

"Why are you so happy?" Eren asks suspiciously.

 

"Can't I be happy for no particular reason? Anyways would you mind coming up to my office for a second, kiddo?" 

 

Eren nods and he gets up, he has been dying to move from his seat and heads to Hanji's room which is still brightly lit and comfy. Eren enters and closes the door behind him. 

 

"So," Hanji begans as soon as they sit down, "the chief is gonna be here any second now. He is Mike Zacharias, and he is a bloody honorable man. Just don't be weirded out because he tends to sniff people." 

 

Eren frowns, "wait what? Why does he sniff people?" _That's not normal._

 

Hanji chuckles, "well justice is blind, so she needs a way to judge people, silly!" 

 

They end up laughing at their joke and Eren shakes his head at them, but he is secretly happy. Seeing Hanji back to normal was amazing. 

 

They giggled and then sighed, looking up at Eren, "Also," they began nonchalantly, "Levi called me up." 

 

Eren freezes at the name of his lover and gasps before scrambling to get a grip on his emotions, "wh- what did he want?" He asks in a stoic voice. 

 

Hanji studies him, "He was angry at the fact that you're evading him. But more than that he was just worried, would you believe him? He asked me if you were eating and shitting properly? But that's it, all he talked was about you. At the end he did tell me to warn you though, telling you to remember earlier conversations about you trying to get away." 

 

Their voice is light enough but Eren senses curiousity in it. He decides to let them simmer in it cause no way would he say what all Levi had told him. That no force in the world could keep Levi away from claiming Eren. And the thought sends shivers down Eren's back. He also processes the other things Hanji told him, even after all this shitfuckery Eren was putting him through, Levi was still so worried about him. 

 

Fuck, it shouldn't cause tingles down his spine.

 

"I hope you told him that I don't care." Eren says with fake boredom in his voice. 

 

"Ah I could have," Hanji smiles, "but why should I lie?" 

 

Eren blushes deeply at Hanji's comment. It did hit home, he did care, a lot. 

But before he can retort the door is being knocked upon gently and Hanji gets up immediately. They waltz to the door and unlock it, revealing a tall blond man with a large nose behind. Eren gets up in a respectful gesture, and even though Hanji had already told him, he couldn't keep the shock off his face when the man began sniffing around like a dog immediately. 

 

"I smell trouble." The man promptly announces. 

 

"Oh Mike," Hanji chides him, " You always smell trouble. But can you not freak out Eren right now?" 

 

Eren is already freaked out but he starts to relax. Just as he sits back down again, Mike mutters, "I don't always smell trouble Hanji. Whenever I smell you, you smell like a maniac." 

 

Eren chuckles at that one and the man immediately turns to face him, now that he is looking straight at Eren, he sees the aura of command and respect around the man. He gives one quick nod to Eren and sits down beside him. 

 

"Mr.Jaeger," he promptly announces, followed by a sniff, "Hanji talks highly about you." 

 

"I.. er. . am flattered" Eren stammers, wilting under the hard gaze of the chief. 

 

"You do not need to worry Mr.Jaeger. Whatever we discuss here is confidential between us and no one else would learn of it unless we deem the provided information as a threat to the security. I believe Hanji told me you knew crucial information on the whereabouts and the identity of the serial killer Rivaille?" 

 

Eren gulps, he can hear the beating of his heart, it feels like it will run out of his chest at any moment. 

 

"That's right, sir" he squirms. 

 

He glances at Hanji who is looking resigned and tired now, Eren feels sorry for them but he has to help the law somehow. 

 

The man nods, "I see. Let me be serious here, the man is a very dangerous criminal and he needs to be apprehended almost immediately. If you do have information about him and it helps us to catch him then you will be hailed as a hero." 

 

Eren nods along, his respect for the man increasing with every powerful word he spoke, but so was his hesitancy. What was wrong with him? Was it the seriousness and the finality of what he is about to do causing him this apprehension?

 

"Now," the man droned on, "I know the news of rampant corruption on the higher levels would make you uncomfortable at providing information, incase your identity as a witness is compromised, but let me tell you this Mr. Jaeger, I am not one of the corrupt individuals and I will take swift action against Rivaille as soon as I catch him. That's my promise." 

 

Eren nods, "That's.. good to know, sir." 

 

"Indeed it can be reassuring," Mike nods, "Now, Mr.Jaeger, do you have any information for us?" 

 

Ah there it was. The name was on the tip of his tongue; all he had to do was utter Levi's name and the deed would be done, it was that easy. He would be hailed as a hero after that and he would go down in the history books. After all wasn't this the dream of everyone? He could imagine his parents being proud of him and so were the other people, they could walk freely now, after all. The serial killer is sure to be killed after he is caught and everyone would be safe. 

And that is what stops Eren from saying the name out loud. 

He doesn't want glory or fame. He didn't want anything other than Levi, and he would never be able to live if Levi isn't alive. It made him horrible and a criminal in many ways but damn him. Eren couldn't do it. 

He loved Levi too much. 

 

"I...I don't know," Eren says weakly. 

He watches Hanji perk up from his peripheral vision but he keeps his concentration on the frowning man before him.

 

"You.. don't know? " the chief replies in confusion. 

 

"I mean I have my doubts, sir, but I don't have the evidence against that person. What if I am wrong? I don't want to provide the wrong information and cause trouble!" Eren quickly replies. He bites his lip as the man before him look disappointed, but he finally nods. 

 

"That's.. considerate of you Mr.Jaeger. That would certainly save us time if you do that. If you find concrete evidence, please don't hesitate to contact me via Hanji. I'll be in touch." He gets up and so does the other two. 

 

"It was nice meeting you Mr.Jaeger. Now Hanji, won't you mind dropping me off?" 

 

Hanji nods and looks gratefully at Eren before walking past him and leading Mike out. He gives one last nod to Eren and then he leaves quickly. 

 

The second they both are out of the view, Eren collapses back on his chair. He doesn't care for the plastic digging in his back. He cannot believe what just happened, and feels like he is in a dream. But feeling the immense guilt told him that he was awake. He couldn't believe it, he had just protected a feared serial killer. And if Levi killed in the future it will be his fault, because he was the one that let Levi go. 

Yet he cannot stop smiling, it was always Levi saving Eren's ass but now it was Eren who saved his life. He may have committed a crime by protecting Levi, but, as long as he was alive. Eren could take it in. 

 

***

 

The air is unsually chilly for a summery night yet Hanji doesn't shiver. They look up at the clear skies and smile at the stars. They couldn't believe it! Eren had protected Levi! They knew Eren loved Levi, almost as much as Levi did his jewel, but they could have never ever dreamed of Eren changing his mind like that to protect that grumpy shorty. They couldn't wait till they told this to Levi. 

 

Mike sniffs beside them, "Seasons are changing," he says with a frown. 

"Oh Mike," Hanji teases, "stop being so dramatic." 

 

Mike turns to Hanji and looks at them with seriousness, and all the giddiness and happiness Hanji felt earlier at Eren defending Levi vanished. Mike was a well respected, serious chief when it came to his duty, yet he was never anything else other an a good friend to Hanji when they were the only ones together. For him to be this serious meant something was wrong. 

 

"Mike?" They ask, confused. 

"Hanji, I feel like Eren is hiding something." 

 

Hanji's face drains of colour, "oh sure not Mike! I mean he is a kid-"

"No," Mike interrupts, "he was very serious throughout the conversation, yet he hesitated at that one moment when I asked information about Rivaille. I feel like there is more to this." 

 

"Mike he is just a kid!" Hanji says desperately, Mike was good, almost too good at his job, he couldn't get on the trail otherwise it wouldn't end nicely for anyone of them. Hanji had to stop him somehow. 

 

"No," Mike says seriously, "He is a kid who has Rivaille behind him for some reason. He knows something important that would lead us to the man. I'm going to stay here for a few days Hanji, and keep an eye out on things. The kid knows stuff and I will find it out. No matter what." 

 

****

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's getting intense here 
> 
> And a chapter without Levi *sobs*


	23. Beacon of death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So okay, I was supposed to not update this chapter till I was done with three more of them because this is where the suspense starts! 
> 
> But since it is my mom's birthday, and I am back from the hospital I started replying to comments and ended up feeling horrible that I haven't yet replied to all of them. I am trash, please know that.
> 
> I had a guitar test today and I have a report due for tomorrow set, so I had to edit this in school, lmao. 
> 
> So I couldn't simply not talk to you guys because you're all my children and that's why here is the chapter!
> 
>  
> 
> I'll see you all in the new chapter (which I HAVE ALREADY WRITTEN AND EDITED UP! I ENDED UP BEING PRODUCTIVE, HELLA!)

"You've got to be kidding me" Levi growls in his phone; he couldn't believe it. Was this some shitty fucking joke?

If so then he wasn't amused, at all. 

 

"I'm not," Hanji whines, "I'm serious!" 

 

Levi leans back against the mat he has been exercising on as he processes just exactly what the fuck Hanji was talking about. They had called him earlier and even though he hates being disturbed when he is exercises, something told him that there was something really wrong as his phone lighted up. And he is right. Hanji tells him everything, about Mike Zacharias coming and visiting Eren and him deciding to stay here in Maria. At first Levi couldn't believe what he was hearing. Mike Zacharias was damn good in his job and he was all over Sina and Maria like a superhero of righteousness. The man was obsessed with justice and Levi knew he had been looking for Rivaille for most of his career. He was the only one who got away from under his nose and Mike was bloodthirsty for his capture since then. This wasn't supposed to happen, the last person he wanted to interrupt his plan was that fucking pig. This wasn't going his way at all; and it rarely happened with him, he planned everything so carefully that this was the first time in so many years he was truly shocked. 

 

"Why the fuck would you let Mike Zacharias stay here and fuck up my plans Hanji," Levi growls, swatting away beads of sweat from his arms. 

 

"I tried to get him to go away but he is determined on trying to find out your identity from Eren!" 

 

 _Ah, Eren._ Hanji had told him the other things too. He knew for a fact that Eren would try to turn him in sometime in the future but he particularly didn't care for his jewel's wasted but endearing efforts to get justice. He could bribe the seniors officers even if there was a remote chance for him being caught- which wasn't even required cause he knows he doesn't leave evidence behind. Eren would have to come around whether he wanted it or not because there was simply no stopping Levi.  

He was getting tired of this cat-and-mouse game now, it was just a chase going nowhere. He was ready to grab Eren and leave for Trost. The fact his plans were being delayed by none other than Mike Zacharias was making him see red. 

 

How _dare_ that asshole keep him away from Eren. 

 

"What the fuck does he wants? To know who I am? Oh I will show him who I am." He says darkly, and immediately starts to plan his demise. He needed to vent his anger out by killing those who dared to come between him and Eren. He was going to chose the most gruesome and painful of ways for trying to keep him from his jewel.

He'll kill him slowly, break his bones and skin him over days. For each moment he'll let the blood flow and enjoy the pain of screams that would be like a music to his ears. And after he is done he'll go find Eren. He'll make him suffer too, but the punishment would be delicious. Oh _yes_. He was going to fuck him senseless. Pound him till he loses his voice from screaming out his name. He'll know what it is to like trying to get away from him. 

 

But first, he needed to lure Mike in. 

 

"Levi," Hanji warns, "you cannot hurt Mike." 

 

Levi laughs at that, "He and his stupid nose should have kept away from my fucking business then." 

He will have to pay. He _will_ pay with his blood.

 

"Levi you cannot. Atleast think about Eren!" Hanji says frantically and Levi frowns. _Think about Eren?_ Levi did nothing other than to think about Eren! Eren was all the time on his mind and it was driving him crazy. His finger twitches at the fact he is not here in his arms. Ofcourse Mike would have to pay for this so that he can never bother him again. 

 

"Think about Eren? He is the reason Mike needs to go," Levi seethes, "He is trying to keep me away from my property. He will have to fucking pay for that." 

 

"Okay, okay fine but," Hanji argues back and Levi almost slams the phone down in annoyance, "Eren already protected you once, you just can't break his trust like that by killing Mike!" 

 

"How exactly am I breaking his trust?" Levi asks curiously.

 

"Well think about it! He just protected your identity even after seeing you killing people in front of his eyes. And right now you may not like it but he trusts Mike because the guy is damn manipulative too. He has convinced Eren that he is just there to help him out with the security. Right now he is the one with Eren and not you. If you kill Mike then it will break Eren's heart more, you know," they tell him in a stern tone causing Levi to scoff. 

 

"Break Eren's heart? Hanji I'll be there to mend his heart, why should I-" 

 

"He won't like it," Hanji interrupts, "look, I know you don't care at the end what Eren feels for you because you will have him one way or another. But would you really want Eren to be there with you while he hates you for the rest of his life?"

 

Levi slams his phone down then, Hanji was used to him disconnecting by now because he wasn't interested in listening to them babble anymore, but even this time he had to reluctantly admit that Hanji is right. Yes, he will have Eren at the end but does he really want his jewel hating him? The idea of never seeing his eyes gaze at him tenderly, or have him beg Levi to take him there and then. The laughter and smiles he shared with Levi or him being mad because Levi had to leave to do his job. They were all tiny parts of Eren that him so precious. He was his favorite possession for a reason. 

 

So having him hate Levi was the last thing he wanted.

 

He needs to make a new plan then, but another unpleasant surprise shocks him when he realizes that he cannot think up of anything. His genius brain was always ready with suggestions but now... there was _nothing_. He is just so worried about getting Eren that Levi had no fucking back up plans ready. 

 

Oh how he hates this. Eren was making him feel emotions that made him more _human_ , more sloppy. He needed this to end, now. Had that stupid Mike hadn't interfered then Levi would have been on his way to get Eren already. 

 

But Hanji is still right, Eren probably didn't see Mike's ulterior motive and probably thought the guy was there for his benefit and out of goodwill. Normally Levi wouldn't bother much because there was no one in this field that couldn't be bought by money. That is everyone except Mike Zacharias. That man had worked damn hard to earn his place. Levi knew the guy was good, very good, and he knows Mike won't rest till he has Levi's identity and he probably has figured out that Eren knows something. He could bribe the superiors into discharging Mike and make his life hell, but that would take time. He would have to contact, threaten, pay till he finds the right people to do his job. And that could take days.

He didn't have days. He wanted Eren quickly. For his own sanity's sake and for the fact that Eren wouldn't break and tell Mike who he actually was. He didn't need there to be any doubts of him being even remotely related to Rivaille. 

 

What should he do then? Should he just watch this play out? Be like a good pet and wait till Mike is forced to leave? That was what he should have done, but this wasn't him. He could be patient as long as he wanted to, but not when Eren was involved. He was at his limit and his threshold was close to breaking. 

 

He decides to go for a walk to escape the tense atmosphere, hoping for fresh air to bring clarity to his thoughts. It did work however, soon Levi had a lot of ideas of plans of how it all should all be orchestrated, but all had one flaw: they all needed his patience. It was like a vicious cycle which refused to break. 

 

He needed Eren, somehow have his property back in his arms then he would obliterate the whole fucking Maria if he damn wanted to. His mind is set on that and he starts to form a plan, but each time he tried some obstacle came up. He could pay the cops more money than they'd ever earn, influence political leaders of Maria to make Mike disappear or simply pay the thugs to do the dirty job for him but all of those alternatives took time, and not to mention the fact that Eren would be heartbroken. _Fuck_ , why was this so hard?

 

 

When turns around to walk back  he is no nearer to the solution than he was after Hanji had called him. He knew that he could murder everyone in a moment if he wanted- he certainly that the power to do that, but it was his emotions that were causing him so much trouble. He remembers how he had once mocked those criminals who got caught not only by law, but caught in the ensnare of those feelings. He'd laugh at them, and never gave a damn, after all Isabel and Farlan were dead and he wasn't threatened by those humane qualities. But now that Eren was in his life he was constantly worrying about his brat rather than anything else. He is caring again, because of him. 

He is loving again because of Eren. 

 

So his frustration is making it hard for him to do anything, and his hands are twitching to do just _something_. Something to calm himself down. 

 

Just when he thinks he cannot take it anymore, he sees it. Like a beacon of hope he sees the solution. Literally walking towards him. He almost walks past a group of young men ambling past him. They were laughing and making merry. Not something uncommon to see at this time, but it was something that sparked the idea in Levi's head. So what if he was feeling again? He only felt for one boy and he will get him. Emotions are weakness to him then he'll use them against those bastards. 

 

"Hello," one of the boys approached Levi as he saw him staring at the group with a glint in his eyes. 

 

Levi smiles calmly, hiding the horrific intentions behind his handsome, charming face. 

 

"Hello," Levi murmurs, " Do you brats have a phone that I could borrow?"

 

 ***

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll reply to your comments as I keep updating this work. I am editing chapter 26 right now and damn, I feel a writer's block approaching :/


	24. A frightening truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scheduled update:
> 
> I'll be replying to your comments now ♡♡♡  
> (Yaaay :D)
> 
> Also thanks for all the wishes to my mom, I told her my friends wished her and she looked at me suspiciously.   
> Smh, mom. 
> 
> Anyways oh man, enjoy this chapter!! It was too much for me to edit it the second time so sorry for all the mistakes

Lately, sleep has been difficult for Eren.   
  
It wasn't just because he has been dreaming that one particular dream again, it was the heartache it caused him. It always started the same, Eren walking through those fields they had their first date in.

 _The wind caresses his feet and his hair. It is warm but feels nice. He is walking through the sunset, watching the orange sky glow when something catches his eyes: A figure walking towards him. It doesn't take long for him to realize that it is Levi._  
_But this Levi.. he is smiling. His silver eyes are alive and radiant; he genuinely looks happy._

  
_"Levi?" Eren whispers as he reaches him, afraid he will disappear with the wind._  
  
_"Yes, my jewel?" Levi  murmurs back and the soft velvety voice of his causes Eren to burst into tears and hug him. He feels so warm, he feels like home._  
  
_"I missed you so much Levi," Eren's muffled voice replies from Levi's shoulder, and he doesn't think Levi could hear him with how his head was buried in there. He wanted to stay there forever._

_"Me too," Levi says gently, "well I am here now, so why are you still crying?"_

  
_Eren frowns and pulls back; the tears don't leave his face, no matter how much he rubs them. His hands get wet from the tears, his shirt starts to soak, but he still cannot stop crying. He tries to rub his eyes again in futile attempt and when he blinks them open again, he notices Levi standing at a distance._  
  
_"Eren?" He asks, "Aren't you going to come with me?"_  
  
_"Come with you? but where Levi?" Eren sobs out. Why is he crying so much?_

 _"To home, my jewel, where the fuck do you expect me to take you?"_  
  
_Home, Eren frowns, home?_  
  
_"Our home Eren," Levi reminds him, but his voice is fading away, "where we live together happily."_  
  
_Eren frowns harder and he realizes Levi is disappearing, he gasps and the pain of seeing him leave prompts him to sprint towards the fading man, but no matter how fast he runs he never catches up to him._  
  
_"Levi, wait!" Eren screams, "Take me with you! take me to our home!"_  
  
_He is desperate, this is all he ever wanted and to know he has this? why isn't Levi taking him there, why doesn't he remember anything about their home?_  
_Memories of him and Levi cuddling in bed, Levi comforting him, taking him out on the date and just being plain doting flash through his eyes. This was what they were supposed to be doing! So why is Levi leaving?_  
  
_"I can't take you there, Eren," Levi says sadly as he disappears away, "after all it was you who gave our future away."_

 

"Eren, honey?" Eren hears his mom's voice calling him gently. He opens his eyes with a start and realizes they're puffy. His mom is frowning at his face; he rubs his eyes and gets up with slowly.   
  
"Mom?" he asks sleepily.  
  
"Yes, sweetie. Why are you crying?"  
  
Eren groans, he has been quite upset the past few days, he knew that, but he could chalk it up to being scared of Rivaille. But how could he explain crying?

"Nothing" he mumbles and gets out of the bed. He stretches his fingers and looks out at the bright summer day. The sky was blue, the sun was out, everything was jolly except Eren. It was the same day over and over again for him and he is feeling frustrated now. He feels stagnant, and trapped again in his house yet again, this time he is keeping himself out of Levi's reach.   
  
_Levi.._

His heart clenches painfully. 

  
He remembers the dream vividly, after all having the same dream again and again helped him to recall it easily, which was a bane for him. Every time Levi leaves his heart breaks. He imagined he'd have nightmares of seeing Levi behind the jail but this was far worse. Seeing a vibrant Levi killed him inside.   
  
He was, after all, a broken man. Eren couldn't deny it. He was the glue that kept him together and Eren was breaking him apart. In his quest to destroy Rivaille, he was destroying Levi. And himself. 

He looks away with a sigh, and resigns himself to yet another day of nothingness. To top it off it was a Sunday that meant he had no job to distract him from his thoughts. He turns around and faces his mom, smiling tightly at her as he walks past her to take out morning clothes.   
  
Once he is freshened up, he and his mom go downstairs. His dad is reading the newspaper beside the counter, giving Eren a weird sense of deja vu. He remembered how he had asked his dad just days ago if something had happened in this area and the answer was none. He wished he had the naivety of that time- the time where he dared that Levi had left his killer self in the past. 

 

Then he looks at the counter itself and memories rush back. Yes, he missed that fleeting but perfect time. 

  
  
He gets himself breakfast and seats himself down in the sofa; his dad never liked him doing that but he wouldn't dare to go near the kitchen counter which held those bittersweet memories for him.   
  
"Eren," his dad calls and Eren silently curses, "why are you sitting at the sofa? eat here at the table"   
  
Eren sighs, "Just here to watch the news, dad."   
  
He promptly switches on the television and raises the volume in a show that he is watching and listening to what the reporter was talking about. It is the early morning chitchat show he didn't care about.   
  
After barely being able to keep his eyes open from all the boring conversation going on, he thinks he should join his dad at the table. Then maybe he could go back to sleep and have those heart wrenching dreams again.   
_Fun._

 

He feels his mom coming in the room, talking to his dad, no doubt telling him to leave his son alone because he is going through a rough time. Eren doesn't even care about eavesdropping to listen in what his mom is talking about, he just doesn't care anymore.   
  
His eyes are droopy now, and sleep is mulling over him. He almost drifts away when he hears it. On the TV. 

  
**_Breaking News._ **  
  
_Three college students have been found murdered near the Absinthe Reserve in East Maria. Bodies were gruesomely hacked apart with a knife. No evidence is yet obtained on the suspects of this crime._

 

Eren's heart lurches, oh no. 

Oh no, oh no, _oh no._

This wasn't supposed to be happening, he barely has time to process what is going on before more breaking news is flashing. It was something he already knew; the killer had just been confirmed as Rivaille. The proof was his trademark way of killing; he had called up random people but instead of describing how he committed the crime, he just said one chilling sentence.

 

"Give him to me." 

  
  
The reporter goes on about speculating who this 'he' was and so were other people in the law and probably the entirety of Maria, except Eren. he knew who Levi meant.   
He meant him. 

 

It is morbid how his heart lurches as he learns Levi still wants him, but it is soon smothered under the crushing feeling of guilt. Three college students died because of Rivaille, or simply, because of him.   
All because he didn't turn Levi in when he had the chance, the murders were truly on his hands.   
  
He hardly notices how his parents run up to him, frantic and worried, it is only when Grisha shakes his shoulders roughly does he snap back in the present. 

  
  
"Eren! Eren, Hanji is on the phone!" 

  
  
He reaches his hands out but the phone falls right through his hands. He blinks and shakes his head, before picking the phone up and managing a shaky hello in greeting.   
  
"Eren!" Hanji says, distraught, "Mike wants to see you down in the MP building, right now!"   
  
Eren mumbles an _okay_ before keeping his phone down. He doesn't move, and it seems like Hanji has already told his father to bring him down to the station because suddenly he is lifted up from the sofa and dragged by his arms to the car. He passes by his distressed mom and he wants to hug her. But he can't get the energy to.   
  
He is a murderer, he didn't have the right to hug his mother anymore. 

 

Why didn't he turn Levi in when he had the chance? Did those poor murdered students justified his keeping Levi safe just because he is a stupid teenager in love?

He blinks and realizes his dad is talking about something, and he comes back to the present. His dad is really not talking to him, just muttering about how it will all be alright. 

 

Eren certainly hopes so. He doesn't know what he'll do if it doesn't. 

 

They reach the building soon and Grisha gets out and pulls Eren. He staggers but manages his balance as he watches Grisha get in again. He couldn't park on the road no matter how much the emergency was, and so he turns around and sees police cars surrounding the building and a shudder runs through him. 

 

What if he is arrested for aiding in murder? what if instead of Levi it is him in the jail rotting away because of the crimes he helped in committing?

Eren feels tears gather in his eyes, this couldn't be happening. It was all spiraling downhill frighteningly quick. 

He walks inside and finds Hanji pacing around the lobby. He barely walks in when they look up and drag him by his arms to the office, before the others have even a chance of seeing Eren. 

 

In one way not talking to them has Eren glad. He doesn't want to listen to sympathies or questions right now, but on the other hand he is being glared by Hanji. Who closes the door behind him and pushes him in the seat. 

 

"Hanji-" Eren begins. 

 

"No," Hanji interrupts, "you cannot turn him in."

 

After all this Hanji was still taking Levi's side? 

Eren blinks at them in shock, "why not? Hanji I thought you said you'd support me in throwing him in the jail! Are you backing out even after what he did?" 

 

Hanji shakes their head halfway through Eren's outburst, "No kiddo. I'm protecting you."

 

 _Protecting him_? How? How did not turning Levi in protected him?

 

"Eren. At this point Mike is going to ask you if you know who Rivaille is and if you do give in the identity you'll be seen as an accomplice because you knew who he was already," Eren's heart sinks and the earlier worry is back again gnawing at him. He would be given the death sentence too. At the end it would be him who would be known as a traitor to the mankind and he'll be the one who would rot away alone in some cold cell away from everyone. 

 

"But," Eren whispers, " He won't stop murdering if Mike doesn't stop him.."

 

Hanji shakes their head yet again, "Eren think! Levi has the law under his control and he can get out! If you don't provide evidence it is him then you'll be charged with perjury instead! And you know Levi doesn't leave clues around but only you can stop him. And you know it!"

 

 _How?_ Eren blinks up at Hanji who is looking at the time and then at the door and Eren feels the time racing out of his hands. How can he stop Levi from committing the murders? 

He doesn't think Levi would stop at anything, and he would go to jail even if he does something. There was no way out yet time was running out. 

There had to be a way out. 

 

He tries to remember. Memories pass by his mind and of all those words Levi had said to him come back to him. 

 

 

 _"_ _I could shower you in jewels, buy you the most precious and expensive gifts yet they’d never worth as much as you do. I could scour the world and never have something as beautiful as you. I am yours Eren; completely and utterly yours.”_

 

An idea starts to form in his head but it is quickly squashed when there is a knock on the door. It is loud and in rapid succession and Hanji scrambles to get to the door. The second they open it Mike marches in, he sees Eren sitting there and strides towards him. 

 

"Eren," he says, his voice his firm and he can sense a trace of controlled anger in there. 

 

"Sir," Eren looks up and flinches as his eyes meet the man's. Those clear blue eyes now looked like they had a storm brewing in them. 

 

"Eren listen, I know that you know who Rivaille is. I need the info Eren, who is it? Who is the killer, Eren?"  His voice grows louder and dangerous until it reaches a certain tone that causes chills down Eren's back. 

 He backs away from and digs deeper in the chair. Sensing his uneasiness Hanji comes to his rescue.

 

"Mike you're scaring him-" 

 

"Shut up Hanji," Mike growls, and a mad glint enters his eyes, "we're so close to catching this madman finally and Eren here is the key. The key to unlock all those secrets if only he opens his damn mouth!"

 

The atmosphere gets tense and Eren is too shocked to say anything. He's seen Mike, worked with him. The guy had expressed his interest in Eren's security out of goodwill and had earned his respect and admiration for, yet here he was, just totally different in all the wrong ways. 

But if he was going crazy now, what will happen to him after Levi is caught?

 

"I..I don't know," Eren whispers hoarsely as Mike scowls at him. 

 

"You- you know who it is Eren. I can smell the truth off you. Who is this person that has such a control on you. Who is stopping you from noticing that you've become a goddamn murderer by helping to keep his identity safe!"

 

Eren finches at the accusations at the same time Hanji growls,

"You're going too far, Mike."

 

"Am I?" Mike sneers, "And this boy isn't? He is the only one who knows who Rivaille is and he isn't telling us! Why don't you preach to him?"

 

Then he turns to Eren with a voice suddenly very smooth and gentle, "Listen Eren. I know you're scared of whoever this serial killer is. I can help you out if you can just be a good boy and tell me who it is. I promise I'll take care of him."

 Eren shudders at the darkness of those word and the need to protect Levi from this brute sprang in him. 

 

He shakes his head. 

He'll find another way to deal with Levi. He was tired of all this and he just wanted to be away from these people now. 

 

"I am not going to say a word without having proof of who it is," Eren says resolutely, "Now please excuse me I want to go home." 

 

Eren gets up and for the second time in the day get pushed back in the chair, his back stings from the forceful push and he gasps. 

 

"What are you doing Mike!" Hanji cries out. 

 

Eren looks up and frowns as he finds Mike's muscular arms on the both side of his shoulders. He struggles but Mike is trained and a lot stronger than him. 

 

"If Eren isn't going to help us then we'll find a way to get him to help us. Guards! Take Eren in!" 

 

As if on a queue the police men from the cars outside rush in and surround Eren. Mike backs away as the men surround him and Eren gets up cautiously.

 

"What is gong on?" Eren asks, confused, "you're arresting me?"

 

"Mike you can't do that!" Hanji seethes from the side. They tried to come forward but the guards push them back. 

 

"Oh no Eren," Mike says, "I am not arresting you. I'm going to have you guarded in a house of our choice. Rivaille wants you and we'll get him to you. Only with us on the way, ofcourse.

 

If you won't help us to find him. We'll use you to get to his downfall."

 

And then the police close in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI: Absinthe flower signifies tormented love
> 
> Also Mike is really not evil, he's my big bara teddy bear and really.. it is the situation *shrugs*
> 
> Also, my sweet smol child Eren, I'm so sorry


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did anyone catch my subtle references to Snk? 
> 
> Also I'm sorry if this chapter has mistakes in them, I was trying to edit it but my mom wanted me to play youtube videos in her mother language (her mother language is different than mine, and neither of our first language is English)
> 
> And so to update quickly I am posting it right now!
> 
> Also regards to English being my second language, I know I have lot of mistakes in my fics and that's why I'm going back to the first chapters to edit them out, it's going to be slow and I don't like reading my work but hey! Anything for you guys. So if you are planning to reread or download this fic, please wait for sometime!
> 
> Without further ado..

"Mike, this is against the law!" Hanji is screaming now as the police force Eren outside. He tries to struggle but now that he is surrounded he cannot get out of the tight grip of the police force commanded by Mike. Mike was leading them all and barking orders. Between Hanji shouting and him angrily commanding, he gathers bits and pieces of what was going on. 

 

Eren is going to be under house surveillance with cops camouflaged. He was going to be used as a bait to catch Levi. The problem was they weren't talking about where he was going to be kept. He just hoped Hanji relays the message to Levi to stop him from searching for Eren. Although his words echo in his mind: Eren was his most important possession, Levi wouldn't let go. No, he wouldn't. But neither would Mike. What should he do?

 

Should he blame someone else? No, there wasn't anyone he hated enough to burden with the fate of such an accusation. And he couldn't deal with another suffering caused because of his actions. 

 

He growls when the grips gets too tight and the fighter in him wants to fight back, he knows these people are trained to handle worse people than him and he will end up hurting himself. Last thing he needs is to be at mercy with these men while hurt. How in the world did he went from working with the police force to being their prisoner?

 

He wasn't yet one, but if he does admit to who Levi is he will be treated much harshly. 

 That thought scares him, everything going around scares him. He has no idea what is going on. 

 

Mike suddenly stops and turns around to face the police, "take him to his house right now. We will guard him till we get the location where we will transport him."

 

The men nod and haul a resisting Eren in the car. He looks around wildly for Hanji for support, but they have mysteriously vanished. 

 

*

 

The second the car stops at his house his mom barges out of the main door worriedly. His father's car soon follows and the place gets crowded. Eren is ushered in and he is surprised to see Hanji there.

"I drove like mad," they smile without any humour as they answer the unasked question. 

 

When everyone is in the living room, Eren finds himself on the sofa. Surrounded by the police and in the arms of his mother. His dad is standing behind them like a silent guardian. 

Hanji is right next to his mom and Mike is standing before them. Looming like a mad man. He is sniffing around and looks suspiciously to see if anything is amiss.

 

Hanji begins, "Mike, he is a kid! He can't possibly know the identity to this killer!"

 

Carla nods, "my son would never do such a thing. He loves justice and is a honorable man." 

 

_That stung._

"Listen Ma'am, we know that," Mike sniffs, "Eren knows, or at least suspects a person but he is refusing to give us lead, but this was before we formed another plan," He starts to pace and his voice gets lower, "We will use him as a bait to catch this killer for once and for all."

 

Eren looks up sharply, "I won't do that!" No fucking way will he have any hand in leading Levi to this deathtrap, but Mike merely smiles at him and says, "There's no choice here Eren. You have to do this."

 

Eren opens his mouth to argue back, what did they mean he didn't have a choice? Everyone had a choice! All they had to chose was the right one. 

And he knows which one was that.

 

Mike interrupts, "We will not have him near this area, but in Sina. Except for chosen few people in the police Eren's location will be kept as a secret for his own safety and our mission."

 

Grisha frowns, "you mean even we wouldn't know where our son is being kept? That's not right!"

 

"Mr. Jaeger it is for his benefit only." Mike says gravely. 

 

Benefit, his ass. They were using him like a pawn! Eren was tired of being pushed around but even his hotheaded brain knew it wasn't a battle he could win. Instead he tries to catch Hanji's eyes. Hanji was no doubt going to pass this information on to Levi and Eren had to stop them. Levi would come for Eren and will get caught. Mike would have to let him go one day, or maybe a year judging by the thirst to catch the dark killer. He didn't care what happened to Eren.

Atleast Levi wouldn't ever do that to him. And so he had to protect his lover. Eren had to let him go. 

 

Carla tightens her arms around Eren, "then when will we get to see our son?" She demands.

 

Mike smiles,"as soon as Rivaille gets caught."

 

He snaps his fingers before the protests break out again. 

"Everyone out! I'm giving Eren five minutes to dot to pack his stuff and to say goodbye. We'll discuss after that where he is being shifted." 

 

Eren looks at Hanji and sees a determined look in their eyes. He senses what they're about to do and before they can open their mouth Eren says loudly,"Hanji can you help pack me my stuff?"

 

Hanji blinks and then glares at him," Uh no I-"

 

"Great, thanks!" Eren cuts them off and walks over to them through the police men and practically pulls them to the stairs. Hanji is trying to resist when Eren stops once they both are out of the earshot. 

 

"I know what you're going to do Hanji, it won't work, trust me." 

 

Hanji looks at him suspiciously,"you don't know what I'm planning, kiddo." 

 

"Yes I do," Eren says softly, "you're planning to turn yourself in so that Mike questions you about Levis identity instead of me. I won't let you Hanji."

 

Hanji looks at him surprised but then smiles sadly, "I won't break."

 

"No you won't but Petra will. I will." He murmurs, "they'll put you in jail."

 

Hanji sighs, "there has to be something I can do then"

 

"Yes you can. Hanji you have to stop Levi from getting me, understood? No doubt where I am will reach him through underworld word or corrupt officers' but Mike is not going to be fooled easily. You have to keep out an eye for him. Keep him safe for me Hanji," Eren's voice breaks, "Also tell him I lov-"

 

"Eren are you done?" Grisha's voice sounds below and Eren shouts an 'almost' back. He turns and hugs Hanji tightly and quickly pushes them away as they begin to tighten their arms around him. This was a goodbye. Both of them knew it, but atleast Hanji would be safe. 

 

Eren gets daily clothing and his phone's charger for the ride. When he comes down he sees his mom sniffling in the corner while his dad is comforting her. Mike turns around when he sees Eren and walks over to him, and before Eren can react he takes the phone out of his hands and smashes it to the ground. The phone breaks in tiny pieces, shattering the silence. Almost everyone looks surprised except Eren. Who got madder and madder every second. 

He hated Mike Zacharias right now.

 

"What was that for you asshole?" Eren seethes. 

 

Mike smiles, "No tracking device on you now. You'll contact anyone you want through us."

 

Eren would have lunged at the man had the guards not been there, they have a wary eye on him and look like they're ready to pounce on him the second he makes the wrong move.

 

"Now then," Mike grins, "I hope you all said your goodbyes. Guards check through Eren's things to see anything is amiss. If it is all clear then put him in the second to last car and start to get in positions. We will ride out to make sure he is in the middle and protected at all cost." at that Mike turns around and walks out. The others follow him save for people there for Eren. Carla rushes towards Eren and hugs him hard. She tells him she loves him and kisses him on the forehead. 

He puts on a brave smile and hugs her back, and then his dad. At that point Mike comes in and tells the guards to force Eren out. So he turns around and gives a last knowing look to Hanji before turning around and getting in the car which would take him to a place unknown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MIKE WHY 
> 
> also another note: lot of you are waiting for the scene between Mike and Levi and I can confirm it will happen! Just not right now, going on this will be Eren's PoV because it's only fair since this is his story. But that confrontation will happen, and from Levi's PoV and it's going to sate your need for blood. I promise ;)


	26. Darkness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I just realized that this fic is one of the most commented fics of Snk fandom here on AO3. I am so flattered guys, I love you all so much. Each one of you is still here even after so long. I'm just so blessed. 
> 
> Thank you again for all the love you showed me. So here, have the new chapter!!

Eren shields his eyes as soon as he gets off the plane.

 

Mike had ordered his people to take Eren to the airport and then to put him on a plane whose flight number was only given to people driving him there and guarding him from thereon. The tickets were easily trackable and no doubt Mike was hoping that this would prompt Rivaille to follow them. With each second passing by Eren grows fidgety; he knows Levi is out there and he knows time is running out. How will he save him now that he is trapped? He just hopes Hanji was true to their words and has already alerted Levi about Mike's plan, but would it be enough? 

  
  
So after the short but extremely stressful plane ride Eren lands in Sina. It was around three in the afternoon and he could see the skyline of the city. His heart lurches as he sees the large silhouette of Hotel Liberté against the orange sky; he wonders if there was any way he could sneak off and hide there. Levi could come there to get him, right?

  
  
But the possibility of it looked like next to impossible because Mike was keeping an eye on him, so were the other men that had been assigned to him. His each movement is noted, and so was his behaviour. Eren knew he had to get his emotions under control because even a twitch of smile to a random person just might lead Mike to arrest the person in his craziness. He was adamant about catching Rivaille, and could go to any lengths it seemed.

 

"Eren," He stops suddenly when Mike turns to him, "We're going to blindfold you to take you to, _ah,_ your place of residence. I am giving you two days to settle down and make yourself home, then you are going to help us find Rivaille."  
  
His words are firm and like cold stone. Eren knows there is no point in arguing and he is led away before he can even say a word. The second they're out of the airport someone covers his eyes, and all he can see is his inner eyelids now. It is all black and it confuses his sense of direction, yet Eren tries to keep his ears alert to get any clues, but the men assigned to him were being infuriatingly quiet about where he was being led to. 

 

He feels his feet drag against the gravel as he is led to a car, the only reason he realizes it is the gentle purr of the running motor. As the sound grows louder he hears the door open and then one of the men guarding him pulls Eren towards himself and secures Eren's palms together painfully tight, causing him to cry out from the pain. He is then shoved inside the car and forced to sit inside the stuffy space; the leather was warm and it smelled new and it nauseated him. He senses one of the men sit beside him, and he tries to distance himself as much as he can while his hands are secured tight by the man behind his back. The other man is probably the driver because Eren hears the driver seat door opens and some shuffling right before the car lurches forward.

"Be a good boy, Eren Jaeger. You're under our supervision right now" The man beside him chuckles quietly and Eren bites his lip to keep himself from retorting. He needed to be calm right now cause he needed to get any hint as to where he was being taken. 

 

  
The drive there wasn't long, but wherever Eren was taken was eerily quiet. When he is forced out of the car he strains his ears to hear anything. There are no human sounds save for his own footsteps and the guards' which was very rare for a bustling city like Sina. _Very odd._

 

He was definitely not near any population, god damnit, how will he get help now?

 

He is taken along what felt like a stone path to a house. He can only guess it because he feels cool shade over his head and then hears a door unlocking. Once he is pushed inside he stumbles till he falls on a plush cushion on what felt like a sofa, causing the men to laugh at that.   
  
How dare anyone play around with him like that, Eren feels frustrated and he is so angry right now. He almost doesn't notice that the men had freed his hands, and experimentally moves his aching joints before ripping the piece of cloth off his eyes. 

 

He opens his eyes too soon because the bright light blinds his eyes and he blinks painfully. Slowly his eyes focus back and he takes in where he is. He is in a medium sized living room that lead to somewhere else, probably the upstairs or the kitchen. Unlike his own warm home, this house felt cold and foreboding.

 He's already took an intense dislike of this place.

 

"Make yourself comfortable, kid." One of the guards says and Eren immediately turns towards his grinning face.   
  
The men leer at him for a moment before turning around to leave. They don't say anything as they lock the door behind them, but he can feel the unspoken words hang in the atmosphere: they would be back. And so would Mike. 

  
  
When he feels like he is alone he breaks down. If only he hadn't tried to turn in Levi this wouldn't have happened. He wouldn't have been praying for his life and missing him terribly. He promised to make amends with everyone if he ever got out of here unscathed. 

 

*

  
  
Eren explores the house and looks for any hidden room or ways to escape from this hellish place. The house is secured with bars lining each window. The outside was just what Eren had expected: a single house at the edge of a forest with scours and scours of trees as his neighbors.

Once his attempts at finding an exit fails he looks for other ways of communication. Mike was true to his word, there was no way he could have connected with anyone unless he asked for electronics because there were no phone lines, neither were there any laptops or anything which could have helped him out. 

 

There was only one silverlining in this drab house: there was a television. At least he could know what is going on in the outside world while he is locked inside. 

  
  
Exhausted from his day and whirlwind of emotions he collapses on the sofa. It is comfortable but stuffy. So Eren massages his hands and switches on the television and makes sure it is on some variety channel because he cannot bear to look at news right now.

The inconsistent chatter pulls him to much needed sleep and he is glad. He needed this, few hours away from the horrible reality he is living in. 

 

***

 

He is woken up by angry comments and words and he recognizes Mike's gruff voice, a sliver of hatred goes through his spine and he gets up slowly. He blinks open to the yellow lights and he winces as it hurts his eyes. 

 

"Ah Eren, hope you had a nice sleep." Mike sneers at him from somewhere. 

 

He blinks at him, and then to other police officers who are sitting by Mike. They're elderly looking people and Eren takes an instant dislike of them. He sees Mike staring at him with that same mad look from before in his eyes, and slowly backs in the sofa. 

 

"Did you see the news Eren?" Mike continues, disregarding Eren being uncomfortable, "would you believe that, more murders from Rivaille?" 

 

At the mention of Rivaille's name Eren looks up sharply, causing Mike to sneer again. He turns to the television, which is already on the news channel, and he sees the news flashing. His heart sinks as he reads the text on the screen. Two more people dead and this time there was another message which was about handing a certain  _someone_ to Rivaille or the consequences will not be good. He turns around to face Mike who is scrutinizing him now, so were the other men. 

 

"You're sure this is the kid? Why would Rivaille want a kid, Zacharias?" The man scoffs. 

 

The way he talks about Eren clearly shows the disregard he has for him. It stings. 

 

"He does!" Mike says, "Rivaille has been behind Eren for sometime now, for some goddamn mysterious reason, Shadis. Whatever it is Eren is the key to catching the serial killer."

 

The man- Shadis- looks at Eren with a frown again and Eren can see the disbelief in his eyes. A high schooler, son of a doctor, average in school, hot headed but mature and determined sometimes. Why would Rivaille chase him?

 

"I believe Mike. However," another one begins, his eyes hold a slight kindness in them, "holding this kid is against the law, Mike. Eren has done nothing wrong."

 

 _That you know of,_ Eren thinks quietly but he is grateful to the guy for defending him. Whoever it was looked incredibly old but intelligent as his eyes looked over Eren. 

 

"I know that Pixis, but Eren is our damn chance. I need to catch this guy for once and for all, " Mike mutters darkly, "he is the only one who taints my near perfect record and once I'll catch him, I'll be the hero."

 

Eren looks at Mike in disdain, the madness reflected in them told him the story. He wanted Rivaille caught because he is the only one Mike hasn't put behind the bars yet. He knew the bigger the criminal the more respect one got for catching them, and it was obvious Mike thirsted for that. He wanted it so desperately to go against the law and hold Eren against his will because he had finallt discovered Rivaille's weakness. 

 

Eren shuddered to think of what would happen if Mike and Levi ever faced off each other. 

 

"I don't care about your damn hero complex Zacharias! Eren is a kid-" Pixis argues and Mike snaps at him. 

 

"I respect you but you're going goddamn far," Mike growls, "once Rivaille is caught Eren can go back to his life again."

 

 _But could he?_ Eren has doubts about that, someone who could disrupt his life without care like this could do it again, and the thought of it scares him. 

 

"I'm not helping you," Eren growls, what did the guy think of himself? Damn him!

 

Mike turns to him and smiles, "you're already helping out Eren. Rivaille is getting sloppy because of you. Soon he will be captured, thanks to you. Soon.." he trails off and Eren shudders. Mike then turns around to talk to the men and they start to talk about hiding places and where it would be perfect to lure Rivaille in. 

 

He is being ignored by the men and they don't see the tears in his eyes blurring his vision, he is alone and frightened, with no possibility of a happy outcome of him. He wished so badly that Levi was here with him, wrapping him in his strong muscular arms and comforting him. He misses him so badly and the fact their reunion seemed impossible was extremely painful. 

What he'd do for those days under starry nights and cuddling with Levi again. He missed it so much, and now it was all gone. 

 

***

 

The next few days had been crazy. Levi had been more active than ever and he was striking terror in Sina and Maria. The murders he was committing were purely random, Eren refused to believe that all the people Levi killed had touched any of his properties. Even the messages he sent were not the describing the murders, they were asking for Eren. Even Eren was shocked, Mike had said Rivaille was getting sloppy but to see just how desperate Levi was getting for him was scaring him. He knew to Levi not being able to have him was reminiscence of losing Isabel and Farlan, and Eren's heart broke, for himself and for Levi. Why was their love such a tragedy?

 

He was frightened, he didn't know what Levi would do next in order to get him. Eren needed to do something, the situation was getting dangerously out of control. 

 

Mike on the other hand was making the situation harder, damn this man. Eren hated that he had supported this very man once because of his sense of justice. He wasn't going to let Eren out until Levi was caught. And every murder was more of a victory for him. It became clear soon he didn't care what it took to catch Levi, he was ready to give it his all. He was crazy. He was obsessed with catching Levi and no matter how much Eren begged to let it go it didn't work on him. 

 

Then there was the fact that his mom and dad couldn't get it through Mike to let their son come home. Even somewhere they felt like getting Rivaille caught once and for all was the best route now, and since they didn't know exactly what Eren was going through he couldn't blame them either. He hardly got to talk to them and when he did, it was under the watchful eyes of Mike.

 

On the other hand himself Eren was going mad. He had no idea what to do other than to watch helplessly Levi send messages of demanding Eren to be handed over to him. He noticed the subtle change in tone until one day a man was killed and the message was, 'Give Eren to me.. _please_ '

And that small 'please' was simultaneously enough to break Eren's heart and make Mike weep with joy. This was it. This was the sure sign Mike was breaking through Levi. And that was what Mike wanted so bad. 

Eren knew that point forward Mike will never let him go now that Levi was breaking. Ofcourse he was, his property, the only things that kept him alive were the ones he didn't have right now. And it caused Eren pain knowing he was responsible for this.

 

He had to do something, before everything shattered around him.

 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh, Mike. 
> 
> Although on the other hand I feel like us fangirls/boys/people would beat his obsession, lol. 
> 
> Anyways pray for Eren. Smol babby's heart is so broken :/ 
> 
> Also for Levi.. well, I'll leave it up to you guys :D


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike's torture continues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who want Mike to die in this chapter  
> I have some bad news for you 
> 
> And for those who want to see Mike torture Eren past his breaking point  
> Well, this chapter will be fun then :D
> 
> Also I know I have only 28 chapters in this fic, y'all don't worry. I'll tell you what I have planned for future in the next chapter, YLIAM isn't over yet :D

It is after a week Mike announces that he has almost trapped Rivaille and Eren panics when he gets the announcement. 

 

"So Eren, I have no sweet clue how you managed to make Rivaille infatuated with you but it is clear the guy likes you very much. He is ready to do anything for you."

 

Eren glares at Mike and his fingers twitches, he really wants to try to hit Mike's stupid face but with the amount of security around him keeping him under their watch, Eren knew he'd end up on his ass in two seconds flat. 

 

"However, I have the perfect plan now," He smiles, causing Eren to frown, "Remember how I told you that you will be used as a bait to catch him? Well, time to be actually useful, Eren"

 

Eren snarls, "Fuck you. I will not do it!"

 

"Oh no, you don't have to _do_ anything Eren," Mike's grin becomes wider, "I am going to spread false rumours about you. If Rivaille was getting sloppy then this will put him over the edge" 

He leaves the house with telling Eren that, like he usually did after giving short but agonizing updates on how his plan was coming together. He commands the men guarding the house to make sure Eren stays here under surveillance, and Eren groans as the mens' watchful gaze fix on him. He hated this stuffy place, he hated everything so much! Why was this even happening?

 

He strains his ears to hear any information on what rumors were going to be spread about him. He knew now how Mike worked: The guy was playing with Levi's feelings and emotionally torturing him, till Levi gives in that is. No matter how inhuman Levi showed himself to be Eren knows he is not, and as much as he wishes Levi and him could be together Levi's safety was the priority here. Eren prays to any god out there for Levi not to react, and to let him go, but deep down he knows it is futile. Levi would get him no matter what lengths he has to go to. 

 

And later in the week he is proved right. 

 

When the eighteenth murder was committed by Rivaille the message that comes from him after the victims' deaths is a simple one, " _I'm ready to do anything."_ The news anchors and the other people are confused as to what is going on but Eren knew what Levi meant. So did Mike. He had been successful, Levi was now desperate enough for him to do anything. 

 

Mike had been true to his words, he spread rumours about the 'person' Levi wanting was in Sina to lure him in. When the newest murder happened in the very city Mike wasn't even fazed, he actually looked surprised when Eren felt awful. 

Ofcourse between Mike and Levi the murders being committed were no joke. Eren felt like an asshole everytime a poor person died. The families were suffering because of it and others were likely scared and horrified by now, and it was partly his fault. And it was damn time to put an end to this. 

 

He could have done anything to let his guilt go, to stop these murders but he couldn't turn Levi in at all. 

 

There isn't a minute he isn't crying, he has been so sad because of the murders and the fact Levi was hurting so bad. They both were, and Mike was taking advantage of that. The last time he saw Mike, the damn guy was grinning, he was so happy that finally, his dream had come true.

 

"Eren, one of my undercover officer from Sina's underground world tells me Rivaille is here. In fact Rivaille is in contacts with some henchmen of his,"  Mike informs him with a happy smile one day, and Eren’s spine tingles with fear, "He thinks my man is working for him. They're going to meet up in this decrepit building to finalize the deal in trying to get you back, and that's when we'll strike." 

If Eren thought his heart couldn't have broken anymore, it did at that moment. 

 

"Please Mike," he begs, "please don't hurt him. I'll do anything just.. don't hurt him." He looks up at Mike, his eyes are alighted with some macabre delight. 

 

"Eren, Eren, Eren," he snickers, "Don't you think I'm going to let you go after this. If I did, then you could sue me for arresting you under false charges, no?" His smile gets wider and Eren shudders, " I'll charge you with something, so that my image stays clear. So don't beg me, beg gods for your future."

 

Mike chuckles and then he leaves, and Eren almost pulls his hair out in frustration and pure agony. Levi was almost caught now, he was going to be thrown in jail. This couldn't have gotten worse, and he'd rather die. Why, why did this happen to him? He didn't deserve this! He didn't deserve falling in love with a serial killer and suffering because of it. All he wanted was a normal life. 

 

His eyes are blurry and his spirit broken. Eren was done, done with everything. He wishes he could go back to that very moment he decided to turn in Levi after seeing him kill. He thought he couldn't have forgiven him for that but he did. That was nothing compared to this pain. 

 

The next day Mike comes in to check on his captive and Eren feels the already grim aura turn darker. The man is grinning and his eyes are lighted up. 

 

"When I get Rivaille's head I will make sure to buy a house in Trost! Make sure I get lot of money for that," Mike mutters under his breath as Eren stares at him with lifeless eyes. 

 

"Oh Eren, don't look so dull! Today is such a good day! Today at night we're supposed to meet Rivaille and give him his sweet surprise!" Mike chuckles and Eren looks away. He still felt dead inside but that didn't stop his heart from aching. He knew what was going to happen later, Levi would come in, think he is there for the deal with the undercover officer and get caught. 

And he will be executed most likely, and Eren would have to watch that. 

 

He sobs as he watches Mike call people, he is talking about reinforcements and the estimated number is huge. Eren knows there would be no way out of this. He wonders idly if there was a way to just kill himself to escape the aftermath of the devastation his lover's death would bring him. 

But instead of giving Mike the satisfaction of seeing tears in his eyes he turns to the television, it is the same old breaking news; Levi killed his nineteenth victim today and this was the only way Eren knew Levi was free right now. He feels awful for such a dark thought but he is glad that atleast Levi is safe and unharmed right now. 

 

And that is how it goes on, he watches and watches till he falls asleep. He dreams of those dates again he was never going to see become reality. Of graduating, getting a job or simply living his life. Of him and Levi together, and him calling Eren his precious jewel. None would ever happen. 

 

And he'll regret this day forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YLIAM OFFICIALLY HAS A WORD COUNT TO BE CONSIDERED AS A NOVEL  
> :D


	28. The end

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It all had been leading up to this moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone wondering (it will make sense, trust me) the couch Eren is sleeping on looks like this:  
> http://www.minimalisti.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/beautiful-fainting-couch-pastel-green-upholstery-daybed-ideas.jpg  
> ((just a heck lot less uglier, imo))
> 
>  
> 
> A/N: Exactly 4 months ago at 9:30 pm on this date I had posted this fic. And exactly at 9:30 pm I am posting the ending. We've come to a full circle!

When Eren wakes up later he checks the time and realizes that it was already night. The hush darkness had creeped in when he was asleep, stealing the warmth and the last light that had comforted Eren. The dark makes the house feel even more colder and forbidding, and he shivers as he wraps himself tighter in the torn blanket that had been keeping him company the whole time. He feels like the house represents his heart right now, because he remembers what Mike had told him gleefully earlier: He was meeting Levi right now and making the false deal. What will Levi do when he realises it is all a sham? Try to escape the police? Surrender himself and curse Eren to death because it was all his precious jewel's fault? Eren hated to think that last moments of Levi's life would be spent hating him. He couldn't stand that one person he loved so dearly would hold him accountable.. but, he deserved it. Eren had been at fault, and this was his punishment.

At the end he just wasn't a normal teenager anymore, teenagers weren't held captive by police, the very police that was planning to charge him with crimes that would make sure he spent his life behind some inhospitable prison. 

  
Normal teengers didn't have the blood of their lover on their hands.

 

He reflects again to those moments right before he had spilled out that he knew who Rivaille was to Mike. Had he only listened to Hanji and kept his mouth shut. Had he just showed some ounce of control he wouldn't have been here. Tears sprang in his eyes as he looks at the darkness around him, and he loathes it. Loathes everything. He didn't want to live this life, the pain was worse than anything and he wanted to die to escape it. He curls his fingers in his palms and feels the sharp pain where his nails indent his soft skin. It felt good, so good. It felt good to release his agony and frustration by hurting himself and he idly wonders if there is a knife sharp enough in this house that would cut through his veins and release him from this loathsome life. He feels the tears slide down his face and fall on the blanket and he unwraps himself, and lets the warm liquid fall on his palms instead and cause searing pain. He closes his eyes and lays his head down before digging his nails deeper. He cries out as it hurt and bites his lips to smother his voice as soon as he hears the knock on the door. 

 

He curses silently, this is just what he was missing in this horrible concoction that was his life. Mike was already back. Was he going to tell Eren how he caught Rivaille in grisly details, and tell Eren the verdict?

Or would he tell Eren what Rivaille's last hateful words for him were? would he be _that_ cruel?  

 

He hears the quiet footsteps enter the house and he blinks at the bright lights as they are turned on. Eren growls as those steps near him. _No_ , he won't listen to that madman like he had been forced to these past few days. He will hurt Mike. Even if the guards took him away to jail on this count he will still hurt this repugnant person who made his life hell. He will. 

"I'll kill you," Eren mutters darkly, he doesn't care if Mike hears it.

 

 

"Still angry with me, my love?" 

 

 _Wait_.. wait a minute.. Eren gets up so fast that he feels dizzy.  _No way_ , this was a dream right? A cruel manifestation of his thoughts because.. because...

No way Levi could be here.

 

But when Eren feels those strong arms he had so missed wrap around him, he cries out in shock before turning himself towards the man and looking in those silver eyes he loved so damn much. 

 

"Levi!" Eren sobs as he finally sees the person he was face to face with. The sharp silver eyes, insanely gorgeous face and the strong body against him. Even though Eren notices details about him like dark circles under his eyes, ruffled hair and a sickly shade on the milky white skin. He still looked perfect. So perfect and unreal and Eren still doesn't believe that this isn't a dream. But damn him if he will spend his time questioning that for the precious time he had before he woke up in the cold, dark world. He stares at him as Levi smiles tiredly before pulling Eren in a kiss. 

 

Eren kisses him back greedily with desperation, he tangles his tongue with Levi's and pulls him on top of him. He feels his lean, hard body against his and Eren wraps his arms around his neck tightly. He savoured the feel of the soft undercut and the silky hair strands between his fingers. He moaned at the velvety touches as Levi's hands roamed over Eren's, touching him all over the places he hadn't been touched for so long. He pushed Eren further in the sofa, and wraps those legs around his waist. And Eren relishes as Levi takes over. He doesn't mind as long as he got to caress him, feel each of those touch he had been so cruelly denied, and between those desperate touches and sharp nips on his lips, Eren finally realises that he isn't dreaming, that Levi was somehow actually here, with him. Touching and kissing him. Eren felt like they wouldn't ever part, he was breathless, and dying for each touch he had been denied.

Levi was actually here, alive, and not with Mike. 

 

When they finally pull apart they're breathing hard. Eren feels Levi's warm breath fan over his face but he still pulls the man closer, until there was no space between them and even taking in the slightest of breath touched the other one's lips. He marvelled the feel of those silvery eyes on him, ravishing him with the fire inside them. The feel of those hard muscles against his and the warmth he had craved so much. They stay like that for sometime as they drink each other's appearance in at this reunion, before Levi pulls back himself and Eren with him. He lays his head on Levi's chest as Levi tightens his arms around him rests his chin on the boy's head. 

 

"How?" Eren whispered. _Just how?_

 

Levi sighs, "It was hard, damn harder than I fucking thought but I knew how that shit Zacharias operated. In his greed to capture me he overlooked all sorts of small details of my plan. Like how I know to play those damned mind games myself."

 

Eren's brows furrows as he listens to Levi, "games?"

 

"Yes. There was one thing that bastard took advantage was of my weakness for you Eren, he played on my emotions that way. So I did the same, made it sound like I was goddamn needy for you with each message I sent and he fell right for it."

 

Eren opens his mouth then closes it again. He knows which messages Levi is talking about but.. they were a part of Levi's plan and nothing else? So did it mean Levi was barely affected by his capture and that was a part of some grand scheme?

 

It was like Levi knew exactly what was going on in his mind because his grey eyes narrow and he growls dangerously, "don't mistake that for how I am actually feeling, Eren. Each day without you was goddamn hell for me, and I would have gone to the ends of the world to get you." 

With that, Levi tightens his arms around Eren pushing him further in his chest. It was as if Levi was shielding him away from something and making sure that Eren was really there.

 

Yet even still he feels confused as to what is actually going on. Levi had made an elaborate plan to get him by playing on Mike's emotions and in a way, his own. He didn't mind it, it did sting but surprisingly he was okay with it because it was a small price to pay for having Levi here.  

Speaking of which, _Levi was here_. So where was Mike? If he was here then that means Mike must have realized something went wrong with his plan and he was probably coming back.

 

"Levi," Eren pulls back with a sense of urgency now, he didn't want to see that wretched man's face, "Mike must be coming back soon-"

 

Eren doesn't get to pull back too far cause Levi is too strong for him. Nestled in his lap he couldn't move one inch if he wanted to, and Eren didn't want that. But neither did he want to get captured. Especially after the hell he went through.

 

So when Levi still doesn't let him Eren looks at him with a frown, his question dies on his lips when he sees the familiar grin on Levi's face and his silver eyes flash with a calculated look. His smile is secretive and looked damn evil, and Eren shudders at the unspoken words they convey. His face tells him well enough that for some reason, Mike wouldn't bother them anymore.

 

"Don't worry about him," he says mysteriously and Eren gulps, "although his lap dogs will come here once they realize I wasn't there." 

 

With that Levi gets up, pulling Eren with him. He leads them outside and Eren forgets all the questions about Mike as he finally steps out and breathes in the fresh air after so long. _Finally_ , finally seeing the dark sky and feeling the warm earth under his feet felt so amazing that he almost cried with relief. He looks around him like he was seeing the world for the first time, and notices two slumped men in the corner of the cottage where he had been kept. Their blood was splattered against the wood but oddly, Eren didn't care about it for now. He doesn't know how he would feel about that thought later though. Instead he chooses to study the forest that had been his only company while he had been a captive. Such a dark place indeed. 

 

"Now then," Levi murmurs and Eren turns back to the man."Let's go, my jewel."

 

Levi tightens his hands around Eren's and tugs him away from the house; he frowns when Eren resists and he looks up, cold silver eyes frowning at him.

 

"Levi," Eren says softly when he has his full attention, "we can't"

 

Even though Eren wanted nothing more than to just escape after the hell he went through, he knows he cannot do it. Because this one problem was solved but after this what will happen? Will Eren run back to Maria and go back to his normal life? Now that Mike wasn't here anymore that didn't mean in the future there wouldn't be people doing the exact same thing, taking advantage of the law because he is a teenager who happened to be the dark killer's property. What about him and Levi? Levi lived cities apart, he had his job there and would this mean he'd leave Eren over and over again? What kind of life would that be? Not to mention Levi killed mercilessly and Eren would be forced to watch the news about them, while knowing fully well that those poor victims were dead because of Levi. Right now having Levi back was keeping his mind off the murders, but knowing Levi was behind the killings and not doing anything about it wasn't simply possible. Eren had always sided with justice, this was not justice. Others did not deserve to suffer because of Eren's love for Levi. In the big picture Mike was just some mere nonsense, Eren was in for worse if he didn't address this problem now. 

 

He looks at Levi sadly, "What's in for us after this, Levi? Will it all go back to the way my old life was? Go to high school, complete my studies and go on with my life while you live somewhere else?"

 

Levi stares at Eren with calculating eyes and begins softly, "do what you must, my jewel. I'll follow you because-" he pauses suddenly. 

 

"Because of what?" Eren whispers hoarsely. 

 

"Because, " Levi begins, his voice loud and clear now, "you're my weakness, you're my strength. You're my life and everything, Eren. I love you."

 

Eren's breath hitches as he listens to Levi say that in a matter of fact tone, and yet those silver eyes glimmer with a tenderness and warmth that reminds Eren of his dreams he had what felt like years ago. Oh how he ached for this moment, to be looked at such tenderly by the very man he loved so much. 

 

"Levi," he says in a broken voice, "Levi you- you kill people, you have a sense of entitlement and you don't care. You're cold and heartless at times."

 

Levi's eyes harden as Eren continues, "You are a menace. Your love is a menace. But still, I love you. I love you so damn much Levi." 

 

Eren feels tears gather in his eyes, he hadn't expected Levi to tell him that he loved him now; it warmed his heart and it came back to life, beating strongly again and filling him with energy. Knowing Levi loved him gave him the hope he needed so much because of the past few days. Levi had in little ways told him his feelings but never had they both boldly declared their affections like this. It was what reminded him of Hanji's words not so long ago and it strikes him then. They were right. Eren was the only one who could stop Rivaille. Not Mike, not Hanji, not anyone else could do what he could. How could he expect others to do that when he was the only one who commanded Levi's heart? He needed to stop being dependent on others to solve his problems. It was high time this had to be put to a stop, but he had to do in a way that didn't break his fragile heart. 

 

They both look at each other and even though those words exchanged between them were so sweet, their eyes reflect the pain they were going through as the cruel truth dawned over them. Eren was the one who had to make the decision now and so he was the one carrying burden of that responsibility, if Eren took the wrong decision he will forever suffer because of it. However he had to do this, but damn him if he would separate from Levi after this. There was his limit, he couldn't live without him. Plain and simple. 

 

He hoped his family and the victims seeking justice would forgive him for doing the next thing. He had to stop Rivaille and hopefully, that was his redemption.

 

"I have a deal to make," He says finally and Levi looks up sharply at him. 

"Anything" He replies quietly. 

 

Eren looks at him and he can see Levi was desperate enough to do anything. So was he, after their separation, their ups and downs. They both were tired and this was the last hurdle they had to cross before it was all finally over.

 

So Eren begins with a heavy heart. 

 

"I'm your most precious jewel right?" He asks and Levi raises an eyebrow but nods.

 

"Here's the proposition: It's Rivaille or me. You have to chose and if I am important enough then you will have to let him go." 

 

Levi stares at him and Eren bites his lip. He knows he's asking for something damn impossible but this is the only way. Levi had to stop killing because of his jealousy. The murderous part of him had to go if he wanted to keep Eren and to prove him that he was indeed, more important than anything. Even more than the other properties he committed murders for.

 

"And if you do that," Eren stutters, "if you do that.. then.. then.. I'll stay with you."

 

Levi frowned harder, "Stay with me?" 

 

"Yes," Eren says, knowing fully well once the words were out of his mouth he would not be able to take them back, "In exchange of that I will stay with you forever." 

 

He thinks back to those dreams he had: living together in a house, free from all the gloomy shadows of their past. Couldn't be that bad of a choice, right?

 

Levi's silvery eyes stay fixated on him, as if daring him to interrupt as he said, "Your deal is that in exchange of me giving up my urges to kill you will stay with me forever." 

 

The air feels heavy between them as Eren nods. He sees those silver eyes turn thoughtful as they mull over what exactly Eren was proposing. He knows what he is asking for is something extremely hard for Levi because the need to murder stemmed from Levi's awful past and his need to keep his things close. Eren wished he didn't have to ask for this but he couldn't watch people get murdered anymore, he had went through hell for trying to stop that. 

 

But he stares at Levi's face and he looks at his tired eyes that remind Eren that he wasn't the only one going through the ache of living without his other half. While Eren had been captured it was Levi who had to plan out everything and execute it perfectly that lead down to this. Infact Eren had the freedom to make a choice was all thanks to Levi's genius brain and his desperation for Eren to go through all that much effort to get him. It makes him feel much more awful as he tried to put himself in Levi's shoes: knowing he was captured by a madman and it was up to Levi to save him. He was surprised how Levi hadn't broken because of the stres, maybe it was because he was already broken.  

And he didn't want to be anymore.

 

"I accept." He murmurs softly and Eren blinks at him, _wait what?_ Levi accepted his proposal this quick?

 

"You..you do?" He asks in disbelief.

 

Levi sighs, "Yes, brat. I accept. But Eren, if you were to try to escape me I will go back to killing, and I will make sure you come back to me cause I damn won't go through this torture again." 

 

Eren bites his lips and nods as he listens to Levi. His heart sinks as he realizes he was giving up his freedom and life to Levi and feels the weight of the deal settle in.

Yet.. he feels a certain lightness. It could have gone awry in so many ways yet Eren got what he wanted: To spend the rest of his life with Levi. Not only that, he stopped Rivaille, like he had once promised himself. He did it, and he was damn happy. 

 

His freedom was a thing he had cherished so much and was an important part of him but since Levi gave up so much so should he. And he did. He gave up his freedom for love. And it was a choice with no regrets.  

 

So when Levi extends his hand, Eren takes it gladly. He pulls the boy towards himself and picks him up in bridal style. Eren smiles at him softly and kisses him, murmuring all those _I love you_  he had been dying to say but never got the chance. He snuggles his head in that milky skin of his and when he feels those arms around him again he sighs in contentment. 

 

Levi pulls out a lighter and looks at Eren who takes it from him gladly. He studies the small metal object as the light of the moon glints off it. Such a small thing yet it could torch things to the ground. He then looks back at the loathsome house he was forced to hole up in and sneers at it. The damn house was wooden and Eren knew it would burn to the ground once set fire to, and so he does. He flicks the lighter and throws it inside, watching as the fire spread slowly through the carpet and then over the whole living room. 

 

With that he turns around with a smile and wraps his arms tightly around Levi, who holds him like he was weightless and leans gently to kiss his lover.

 

"I love you, Eren" he whispers against Eren's lips and his silver eyes look at his jewel with a warmth unparalleled to any fire. 

 

"I love you too, Levi." Eren kisses him back and then buries his head in Levi's neck. 

 

He doesn't look back once when Levi begins to walk away, but he notices how the wind blows, covering their footsteps with sand, as if the nature herself wanted them to disappear. 

 

He doesn't look back to the _what ifs_ and the future he could have had in Maria. He knew he wanted to live with Levi forever and he had given up his freedom by choice and he would live up to his choice proudly. 

 

Instead he looks forward to the future they will have now wherever Levi was taking them. He will have those dates and the moments he had thirsted for since he had first fallen in love with the man. He had come so close to losing it all and damn him if he doesn't live each moment of his life to the fullest, to make sure he doesn't suffer like that again, waiting for something to happen and watching the world live instead of living himself. Sure,  he would miss his parents, Hanji, Armin and the whole Maria. But not enough to let this go, it was time for him to live his life. 

 

So as they walk away and the Lamborghini Aventador comes to the view, Eren knows there will be days when he would want to go back to his old life and self, but he knows if Levi is there, he will make it through. 

He'll make through anything, and he'll do it happily. 

 

Because now he had everything, and finally he is content.

 

Finally, he is truly happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thanks to everyone who commented, liked and bookmarked this fic. After 4 months of writing, having support from you guys throughout I am sad to say this fic is over. I will miss you all so much.  
> You all were seriously the best part, and have given me such immense love I just, ahh. 
> 
> Anyways I know a lot of people have a lot of questions, most like a) What the effing f happened to Mike?! How did all of this go down?  
> b) The deal? 
> 
> I was essentially going to write what happened with Mike but I realized since this started with Eren's point of view I wanted to end it with that. In this scenario I didn't want Levi to explain on and on what exactly went on cause there are still people behind them, so they were in a hurry.
> 
> But that still doesn't explain it, and I will, when I post the Mike vs Levi showdown Levi will explain what all went down and his genius planning all in his pov. That will be the part 3 of YLIAM series  
> ((and yes I know Eren made Levi promise to stop killing, I promise you all are going to be thankful for that, really)) 
> 
> b) The deal?!?!  
> Basically, remember how Hanji told Levi that Eren would hate him if Levi killed Mike in the earlier chapter? That is the reason why Levi accepts, think of it this way: Eren would stay with Levi forever, and on Levi's own terms. he wouldn't beg to go back to Maria (no matter how much he wants to) or to go back to his friends, family etc. And honestly it is a perfect deal for Levi cause Eren is the most important thing to him and killing is not worth losing him (plus, it means no more running from Eren and not having to deal with Mike like situations in the future) and for Eren his sacrifice was his freedom which is canon to be the thing he wants the most. They give up quite a lot BUT THEY DO END UP TOGETHER :D 
> 
>  
> 
> and it solves the whole "Will Eren chose to stay in Maria or with Levi" debate too!
> 
> Also the epilogue will explain what happened to them, and to our other favorite characters and that will be part two :D It will solve the questions after this chapter, and the reason I didn't include it in this fic itself because this was the fic about how Levi and Eren met/ fell in love/ and beat the odds to be together. And I felt like anyone who is reading this series in one go would find it too abrupt  
> (Plus that takes place after this fic and it deserves its own fic) 
> 
>  
> 
> See you all then! Incase no one wants to read that and if this is the final farewell, then please know. It meant a lot to have you as a part in this journey. No more me posting my long ass notes and irregular updating, I wish you all the best to find new fics and other interests. 
> 
> Thank you for being with me  
> ~Unseeliesidh ♡♡♡

**Author's Note:**

> I'm Jagerbooty on tumblr, seriously come and hug me there.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The Emperor's Jewel](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12216624) by [cbtothekk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cbtothekk/pseuds/cbtothekk)




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